Aladdin and the Poison Mystic
by twinrose84
Summary: Aladdin's encounter with a merchant thief proves to be an adventure in which he is both a target and a hero racing against time. Will he discover the true intentions behind Grenden, a dangerous mystic who dabbles with poison and illusion?
1. Chapter 1: The Encounter

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

**The Encounter**

"Someone please tell me why we're out in the middle of the day in Agrabah's marketplace shopping for fruit? Please tell me, because I know Yaphet's going to say it costs an arm and a leg, and I don't want it to be mine." Iago sat on one of Aladdin's shoulders as they maneuvered around the streets of Agrabah's Marketplace. Abu rested comfortably on the other shoulder, rubbing his belly as if anticipating the bananas they would buy. Aladdin gave Iago a sly glance out of the corner of his eyes, slipping past the usual street crowds while carrying two empty sacks in his arms.

"Relax, Iago. Yaphet's harmless. He can't do anything to you when I'm around. And besides, you have wings, not arms."

"Still, taking one of the two is just as bad as both. And Yaphet doesn't like you either." Iago grimaced. Abu screeched in sympathy for Iago, as if understanding his point.

"Don't think you don't have anything to worry about, monkey. He could take your tail or somethin'."

"Tail?" Abu noted in confusion as he gingerly touched his own.

"He's not going to take your tail, Abu." Aladdin noted cheerfully, patting his friend gingerly upon the head briefly before shifting the bags back between his hands as they moved through the crowd.

Abu muttered a sigh of relief, and the three made their way down one of the alleys, which were filled with various merchants selling their usual wares. It had been almost exactly one year since Aladdin and Jasmine had their wedding, and their trip to the marketplace involved gathering supplies for the feast they would have later that week. Genie had volunteered to chip in, but Aladdin mentioned that he didn't expect Genie to do all the work. It gave Aladdin an opportunity to go out on the streets of Agrabah in his old clothes and back to his usual hiding place, where he'd kept the secret gift he planned to give Jasmine that evening, during their "alone" time.

"So what did ya decide to give Jasmine for your anniversary, anyway? Flowers? Candy? Something boring like that?" Iago asked nosily.

"No, Iago, nothing simple at all. You'll see it later when I actually give it to her." he winked. "I promise you that it's very nice."

"Oh, don't make me HURL."

"Hey, you're the one that asked." Aladdin looked ahead of him and spotted their destination, changing the subject. "Look, Yaphet's fruit stand's over there. Once we get sacks of the things we need, Carpet can take them back for us."

"Where is rug-boy anyway?"

Abu mouthed an 'I don't know' response.

Aladdin laughed. "Let's just say he's entertaining some company right now. He'll come when I give the signal."

"I still think we should've brought Genie along. Or better yet, have Blue Boy do all the leg work."

"Genie's busy with other preparations at the Palace, Iago. You know that. He's been talking about the banquet all weekend. If we can help him gain some ground, somehow, then we should. After all, semi-phenomenal-nearly-cosmic-power can wear a genie out sometimes."

"Ugh, fine. Let me know when something exciting happens that doesn't involve me losing a leg or a wing."

* * *

Aladdin, Iago and Abu finished purchasing the fruit they could carry from Yaphet's cart, maintaining the budget that Genie and Jasmine had given them. Yaphet had reluctantly sold most of his stock to them, if only that it made him turn a profit for the day. He chastised Aladdin under his breath, noting he never liked seeing the "street rat" in any measure of the word. Aladdin didn't pay it much attention, as it was a reaction he expected. Most of Agrabah had grown accustomed to the street-bound Prince, and often greeted him cheerfully as both their Prince and a hero of the city. But others, like Yaphet, eyed him suspiciously and treated him in the same measure as common street thieves.

He whistled for Carpet to pick up the bags, and Carpet came around with not much time between. As the bags were loaded, and Aladdin signaled for him to ship off without them, they all heard the bloodcurdling scream of a merchant. The scream made Abu screech and jump from Aladdin's shoulder to the ground, while Iago clasped his wings over his ears.

"Stop! You can't do this! These are my wares!"

"Don't tell me we're going that way." Iago held a horrified expression on his face, slowly inching away from the direction the scream came until Aladdin grabbed him by his tailfeathers.

"You asked for a little excitement, didn't you Iago? Well, that merchant needs our help. Carpet, go ahead to the Palace; we'll catch up with you later."

"Why did I have the feeling you were going to say that? And put me DOWN already!" Iago said as Aladdin released him took off on foot in the direction of the yelling merchant. Abu dashed behind Aladdin heels, and Iago, reluctantly, flew behind both of them.

Aladdin and Abu turned the corner to see one of the usual merchants, Baram, on the ground, breathing rapidly. He looked like he'd been swiped with a sword, but just barely. Most of the impact had been rendered on a torn sleeve that ran the entire length of his arm.

"Baram! What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Aladdin, but that...that thief robbed me at swordpoint - of one of the jewels that I received in my travels. Please, he must be stopped!"

"Which way did he go?"

Baram pointed south. "I think he's trying to head out the village. If you go now, you can probably catch him. Please hurry, if anyone can do it, I know you can."

"Iago, Abu, stay with Baram. I'll be right back."

"Oh no you don't - if he says there's a jewel to find, I'm not staying behind!" Iago flew aside Aladdin as the two made their way through the marketplace.

"Okay, but I was giving you the safer option." Aladdin said smartly. "I guess your greed does make you useful sometimes, Iago."

"Don't rub it in. I just hope it's worth it!"

Aladdin spotted the thief just as soon as he'd seen the sparkle in the thief's hand. The cloaked figure ran at such an intensity that Aladdin thought he was good for being fully clothed in such hot weather. But Aladdin knew himself to be quicker.

"Iago, cover him from behind, I'll take a shortcut and meet him on the other end. Keep him heading west."

"Yeah, sure, make me do all the run...er, flying." But Iago continued to tail the fleeing thief from behind.

Aladdin found his footing down a short alleyway, leaping over one of the low bridges and excusing himself through a crowd of women who seemed to ogle at him as he raced by. He vaulted over several wash barrels and snake charmer's pots, as well as a hot coal pit where someone had attempted to walk it, and instead tumbled over when he saw Aladdin. Aladdin felt sorry for the guy when he heard the sound of "Yeoww!" behind him.

It wasn't long before Aladdin ran straight into the thief's path, knocking the masked man to the sand, and sending the stolen bounty flying off to the side, which Iago caught with his talons almost immediately. It was a brilliant green gem with intricate etchings and smoother corners, a jewel that reflected the blazing Agrabah sun with green shimmering light.

"I got it!" Iago shouted as he had the jewel in his talons. "I think we can go back to Baram and....ahh!" Iago shouted as he saw Aladdin fighting with the rogue, who managed to get his sword and was nearly skewering Aladdin, who managed to dodge each swing with careful, but barely missed timing.

Yet Aladdin had a disadvantage when he fell back against an empty pot and tumbled to the ground on his back. The cloaked figure seemed to chuckle as his shadow covered Aladdin's fallen frame. Aladdin had his first good look at the thief - a cloaked figure wrapped from head to foot in layers of thin, shaggy robes. His hands and feet were completely covered by gloves and heavy boots respectively, a sword belt on his side, and a brilliant blade which he manipulated with ease in one hand.

"May I ask your name, street rat?" The figure had a menacing, yet formal voice coming from beneath the layers of cloth, as he readied his sword. Aladdin's brow narrowed, and he inched back on his hands, dragging himself backward as the figure approached him.

"Who wants to know?"

"I don't really care. I just like my victims to have their names addressed as the last thing they hear while they're alive. Too bad that you'll be proven an exception." The figure raised the sword over his head, it's brilliant sliver blade reflecting the sunlight. As the figure prepared to strike down, Aladdin's eyes widened in horror.

"I know I'm gonna regret this." Iago flew above the head of the menacing figure to drop the heavy jewel straight on his crown. The figure yelled in pain, and the sword fell harmlessly from his hands. Aladdin took the opportunity for both the thief's shock at the loss of his weapon and the jewel drop to trip the thief from his legs, then grabbed both of his arms and pinned them down behind his back.

"I got him! Thanks, Iago. Do you still have the jewel?"

"Yeah, but hitting that guy's head, I think it cracked a little. Baram ain't gonna be happy about this, if he notices." Iago, said, grabbing the jewel again - this time it had a hairline crack in one of its faces, but it was barely traceable.

"You fool! Even the smallest break renders that jewel useless to me!" the thief said, trying in vain to throw Aladdin off his back, but Aladdin held him down, his palms pressing into the thick material of the robes and gloves of the thief. Aladdin noted that he must have been very thin and frail, as it didn't take much effort for him to hold the thief in place.

"Just what did you want that jewel for, anyway?" Aladdin said.

"It is none of your affair, but in meddling with my labored search, I owe you your death, street rat." Aladdin noticed the thief snapping his forefingers too late under the hold, and a sudden puff of thick, dark smoke released, causing Aladdin to release his hold. By the time Aladdin regained his senses and opened his stinging eyes, the thief was gone.

"You okay, Iago?" Aladdin said between coughs, waving the smoke away from him.

"I'm just peachy. *cough* I should be asking you, considering you just added one more guy who has a reason to kill you to your list." Iago coughed just as loudly, fanning the smoke away from him with a wing. "How many people you have on that list anyway?"

"Ugh, I lost count a long time ago. Mechanacles, Mozenrath, Mirage...*cough*...I think I'm starting to see a pattern." Aladdin said, dusting himself off as he came to his feet. "Whoever he was, I doubt we'll see him again any time soon."

"Not to mention Abis Mal, that clumsy...*cough*. Ugh, at least we got a jewel from that, at the expense of one of my lungs. Now where's that sword...HELLO!" Iago only noticed the diamond encrusted hilt of the sword the thief had been wielding. "Okay, this was absolutely, completely worth it."

Aladdin picked up the sword and cradled it in his hands, noticing that the cover wasn't far away - the thief might have dropped it by accident as well. "I haven't seen anything like this since I came out of the Cave of Wonders, and even the sword I saw like it had rubies. What was that guy doing carrying a sword like this?"

"If we can't keep the jewel, can we at least keep that? Please?!"

Aladdin sighed. "All right, all right. Let's go to Baram first and sort things out with him."

He replaced the sword in its sheath and made his way back to the marketplace, with Iago perching on his shoulder, still coughing from the remnants of smoke.

* * *

"Of course you can keep the sword! I don't have much use for weapons anyway, as I don't sell them in my wares, but thank you so much, Aladdin. I knew I could count on you. And the jewel is still in one piece." Baram was not only happy to see Aladdin and Iago, but also to receive the brilliant gem in his outstretched hands. Iago eyed it with a combined sense of lust and loss in his eyes, while Aladdin smiled at the merchant.

"I'm just glad we were able to get it back to you. How's your arm?"

"Oh, it was only a flesh wound." Baram dismissed the note quickly, pointing to a bandage running down the length of his arm and tied at the wrist. "Luckily, your monkey friend found me a bandage, so I'm good as new. I already gave him his reward."

Aladdin laughed as he saw Abu going through a crate of bananas, with only two left in its contents. Abu had more than his share, patting his full belly and uttering a burp that caused him to self consciously cover his mouth.

"Well, I guess Abu will be carrying the last bounty of that crate, and you can keep the empty crate for your wares."

"Oh good, I have several more things to stock. Come again, Aladdin, you're always welcome to shop with me."

"Take care, Baram, and stay out of trouble."

* * *

The three of them headed to Aladdin's usual space in the city, as Aladdin took the opportunity to clean it since he'd hadn't been there in at least a few days, and Abu helped him arrange a few things clumsily. Iago perched himself on the window ledge looking over the darkening sky.

"Are we supposed to be heading back right about now? I'm starving."

"Go ahead and head back if you want, Iago. I still have a few things to finish up here. And I have to wrap Jasmine's gift."

Abu made a motion that he wanted to see it and Aladdin rummaged through a few stray cloths before coming across the gift. He held it gingerly between two hands within a silk handkerchief.

"Here it is. Actually, Genie took the picture - I don't know how or when he did it." The gift fit in Aladdin's hands easily- a double palm sized aqua gem shaped like a lotus flower with gold trim on its backing and edges, which held in the center of it an oval shaped, romantic picture of Aladdin and Jasmine sitting by the fountain in the courtyard of the palace. Abu was in awe of both the gem and the picture, though slightly more in awe of the former.

"Where the heck did you get somethin' like that?" Iago said, equally stumped and mesmerized by the gem.

"Bought it in the marketplace from one of the usual merchants a while back. He didn't think it was valuable enough because the stone was sooty, but I cleaned it and it turned out to be more beautiful than I thought it would be. Added the picture to it, and...well...that's the story."

Abu gave a thumbs up sign to signal his approval of the gift. "Uh huh."

"I'm with the monkey."

"I just hope Jasmine likes it as much as you guys do." Aladdin said softly, running his hand through his hair after folding the handkerchief back over it, and placing it back from where he retrieved it.

"Sure she will, and if she doesn't, I'll take it, and you can keep the picture."

"Iago..."

"I'm serious!"

It wasn't long before a flash of light erupted within the room, blinding all three of them and smoke erupted through the room and out the grand sight of the skyline.

"Who let the smoke bomb up in here? If that's Genie, he's gonna get hurt for blinding me and owing me a third lung after today." Iago hacked as he fanned the smoke.

"Not Genie." Abu screeched while using one hand to tug on one of Iago's wings and the other pointing frantically in the direction of the light and smoke. Iago was only the second to recognize the figure and his face fell at the sight.

"T-That guy...there's no way..."

Aladdin slowly opened his eyes, from where he had crouched when the blast of light had first erupted, and looked in the direction Abu was pointing.

"You." Aladdin said in a low voice, his expression turning angry.


	2. Chapter 2: Arrangement

_Aladdin Characters © Disney, though the miscellaneous characters (Grenden, Baram, and Yaphet) are my own creations._

_Author's note: I'm going through all of the chapters I've uploaded since the new year and editing this for grammatical and spelling errors. I should have been a bit more cautious in uploading these without thoroughly vetting them before uploading them, but they should be done by the date that I'm amending this message (1/07/2010)_

**Arrangement**

"Well, let's see here - we have the caviar, salad, rich deserts and sacks of fruit brought to you by...dun dun duhhhhhhh..the Rug-Man!" Genie transferred a spotlight over to where Carpet was lounging, and Carpet, noting the spotlight, took the time to do a mock victory dance.

Genie changed his form into an impression of a jazz singer. "Classy moves there, cat, classy." Just as quickly he reverted to his original form. "I get the feeling we're still missing something, something really important despite the obvious."

Carpet shrugged.

"What? You don't know the obvious? We're missing Al and Jas. They're the picture perfect perfection that's going to be a part of this banquet. And oh baby, it's gonna be B-B-B-BIG!" Genie shapeshifted again to a balloon that swelled his form enough to where it exploded into magical streams of light, before returning to normal. "Speaking of which, where is Al? And Iago and Abu? I figured something was quiet around here. Too quiet."

Carpet pointed straight out into the starry sky.

"They're still at his shack, huh? I thought Al was going to give her the gift tonight and it's already getting late. Uhh...he does have the gift, right?"

Carpet nodded affirmatively.

"Whew. Well, even if he didn't, he still has three days to do it."

"Three days to do what?" a voice entered the room, and with graceful strides, the Princess of Agrabah strolled into the room in a pink strapless top and matching bottoms with veiled lining.

Genie straightened up stiffly. "Jasmine! Three days until the big day! How are you feeling?"

She smiled, but wearily. "A little nervous. Only three days and I still don't know what gift to get for Aladdin. I've been trying to ask for ideas around the palace, but it's so hard to choose something."

"Really?! Ooh, ooh, pick me, I know the answer." Genie transformed himself into a schoolboy raising his hand.

"You have ideas, Genie?"

"Sure. Al likes...I...dah....um...Ooh, ooh, I got it! He would really like...gah...um...okay, I got nothing."

"See what I mean?"

"You're right. What do you get a wonderkid who can do everything? Aww, I'm sure you'll find something he likes." Genie reverted to his original form and put a comforting hand on Jasmine's shoulder. "Besides, you're the one who knows him better than anyone."

"That's what I'm afraid of. I'm supposed to know everything about Aladdin, but I feel the more I think about it, the more I think that I don't really know because it's so hard to think of something to give him."

"That's not true. Gift giving is always this hard, no matter what occasion. Remember that time we all didn't know what to give Al for his birthday, and we just threw him a surprise party instead? I think he'll appreciate anything you give him. As long as it's out of love."

"Oh, I know, Genie, but this is our first anniversary. I just want it to be really special." Jasmine yawned slightly. "I think I might sleep on it and try to come up with ideas. I just hope it's sooner than later. By the way, where is Aladdin?"

"Rug man says," Genie pointed to Carpet, who seemed impatient, "that Al, Iago and Abu are still doing some spring cleaning at his place."

"At this hour?"

"That's the story."

"Well...as long as you two make sure they come back safely, I think it's fine. Will you tell them good night for me? I can't hold up." She stretched her limbs a bit, standing on her toes briefly in stretching.

Carpet and Genie nodded as she left the room, and afterwards, Genie gave a huge sigh.

"Looks like Al's gonna have to try another night. But even if he did, I don't think Jas would have taken it too great with all the stress of trying to find him something. I wish there were some way we could help."

Carpet nodded.

"You got any ideas?"

Carpet hung his head in silence.

"Thought not." Genie pepped up and decided he'd change the subject, to keep in the momentum of planning the occasion. After all, he wasn't the type of genie to lose his momentum for long. "Okay! In the meantime, let's pack all this good food away and keep planning for the banquet. And if Al and the others don't come back soon, we're goin' after 'em." Genie shapeshifted yet again, into a model soldier. "Understood, soldier? Sounds like a plan, soldier?!"

Carpet gave a mock salute in return, and the two continued their planning as the moon shone dimly through the clouds in the sky.


	3. Chapter 3: Wondering

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

**Wondering**

The first thing Abu noted waking up was that he'd been asleep for some time. Long enough that he saw the light of the moon through the overlook of Agrabah through blurry vision. He didn't really remember how he fell asleep, but he knew that he wasn't sleeping in the usual position. The lower side of his back ached, and his limbs were spread out carelessly. His fez had even tipped off his tiny head.

It was only when Abu grabbed his hat, placing it back on his head, that he looked around the room.

Aladdin's place looked like it had been torn asunder from a torrential desert wind. Pots were broken, shelves were knocked to the ground, and everything about the place was in utter disarray. He gave a startled utterance, but noticed he wasn't alone when he noticed Iago's sleeping form, and the parrot seemed to be talking in his sleep.

"I don't wanna go, Ma. I told you I'm tired." Abu took the opportunity to shake Iago from his dreamworld, and it snapped the bird awake.

"Hey, hey, _HEY_! Monkey, I'm awake. Ow, my aching head. Did you _have_ to do that? Okay, I just had the craziest and most frightening nightmare. See, remember that thief we saw in the marketplace earlier - he was here wearin' all his black robes and had red eyes and everything. Came in some kinda smoke, and Al recognizes him, says 'You,'" Iago used his voice imitating abilities to mimic Aladdin before continuing.

"Then the guy starts going on some kind of tirade about how he knew how to find us because he followed us here and that he was gonna keep his word or somethin'. Next thing ya know, he starts tearing apart the place. And then, next thing I know, you went to dreamland, and then I went because of some ash or somethin' he blew in my face."

Abu shrieked as the memory came back to him, and shook Iago again.

"Relax, it was just a nightmare. And it was just....I...uh..." Iago noticed the state of the surroundings. "...it wasn't just a nightmare...was it?" He said, his voice lowering and his eyes bulging in horror.

"Uh uh."

"Do I even wanna know where Al is?"

Both of them were silent for a moment, looking at each other with fearful expressions, then around the room. It was eerily quiet, and the darkness and disarray of the place made it hard to get around. They couldn't see much in the room itself, because the moon had been covered by clouds and the darkness eclipsed their view to only a limited scope of the area.

"Okay. This looks bad. Very bad. Calm down, retrace steps...who am I kidding? We need to _PANIC_!"

Abu walked on all four of his paws, surveying the disarray and throwing some idle things to the side as he made his way around the room. It was only after he leapt onto a toppled chest that he started screeching frantically.

"What? What's wrong, now?" Iago took to flight and saw where Abu pointed frantically before leaping downward. Iago flew over to the place where Abu had once been and he focused his eyes to the sight below him where Abu crawled to.

Aladdin lay motionless on the floor, his head facing aside, and his left hand barely clutching around the wedding gift, unfurled from its handkerchief. The gift didn't seem damaged, as it may have been that Aladdin had reached for it but was caught in some kind of blast. Neither Iago or Abu could make sense of what had happened to him.

"He can't be....is he...?"

Abu shook his head. Placing a paw just under Aladdin's hairline, Abu noted that Aladdin was slightly feverish, and saw that his chest steadily rose and fell, but labored.

"I think we'd better get Genie and Carpet out here before that guy comes back and decides he wants to finish the job, to all three of us." Iago gulped, but noticed something odd the way something gleamed at Aladdin's right shoulder.

"What the heck is that _thing_?" Iago pointed downward, and Abu noted the direction of Iago's wing. Something protruded from Aladdin's left shoulder, and it took Abu a second to realize it was some kind of enlarged needle, small, but enough to be seen in the dim light. He made his way over to Aladdin's side and got a grip on the thing to pull it out. It didn't take much for it to budge, and Aladdin seemed to wince, but didn't stir. Abu motioned to Iago, screeching an incoherent order of sorts.

"You want me to tear off part of that curtain? Hold on." Iago did as he was told, and brought it back to Abu, who wrapped it around the wound, small, but had a small traces of blood as result.

"Yeah, I think it's time we scrammed."

"No, no, no." Abu shook his head frantically.

"What d'ya mean _NO_?! Wait, no, you're right. Dumb me. You stay here, I go get Blue Boy and the Rug."

Iago took off as fast as he could from the hideout, while Abu lay close to Aladdin, wondering if he'd stir soon.

* * *

"GENIE!" Iago went plowing into Genie at such a velocity, the two crashed into one of the palace walls. Iago apparently didn't time his entry well enough, because he flew straight into Genie's open mouth, as Genie had been startled by Iago's prompt entry.

Genie was the one who recovered his senses first, turning into a Farmer figure.

"I got a bird stuck in mah mouth, Doc. Wut should I do?"

"_GET ME OUTTA HERE_!" Iago's voice echoed from inside Genie's full mouth.

"Spit 'im out? Okie doke." Genie did so, and Iago went flying out onto the palace floor.

Iago barely took to his feet, shaking his feathers."I got Genie _spit_ all over me! It's gonna take years to scrub this off. First my lungs, then my feathers. Wait, no..hold on...GEN-" Genie, in his normal form, pinched Iago's beak together before the parrot could speak another word.

Genie transformed himself into a tub and started skeeting Iago with water and soap, with Iago complaining every step of the way about how hot it was. Then Genie transformed into a blow dryer and comb, and finally returned Iago to normal, who seemed a little stunned to take it all in.

"There we are. All shiny and clean. Now that didn't take a millenia to do, now did it?"

"That's nice, Genie, and I'd thank you, but we got problems. BIG problems..."

"_Calm. Down._ You keep talking the way you are and you'll wake the next palace and ours. Where's Al and Abu?"

"That's what I'm tryin' to tell ya! We were attacked! Al's not doing so good, and the monkey's with 'im, and we don't know if that...that guy's coming back. We gotta get back there _NOW_!"

Genie took it all in, transformed into a police officer and whistled for Carpet. "We are on alert. Mission Save Al and Abu. Radio all squadrons. _Whoo-woo_!"

Before Iago could say another word, Genie grabbed him as they sped off into the night aboard Carpet.

* * *

"I'm not liking this new look you're sporting - it looks like a pig sty." Genie said nervously as he entered Aladdin's place. Carpet seemed to fly around frantically, as if panicking that he didn't see Aladdin or Abu anywhere.

"Over here." Iago motioned past the piles of debris. Genie moved some of the pieces to the wall farthest from the window, cleaning the area, and saw Aladdin lying motionless, while Abu slept by his side.

"Al..." Genie didn't really have any words to say. Usually in a tight spot, he could make light of a situation, but this wasn't something he could do as he saw Abu stir and worriedly look at Aladdin. Genie also noticed the makeshift bandage on Aladdin's shoulder, spattered lightly with blood. Carpet hung his head low, sadly.

Genie hovered over to Aladdin's side and sat him upright against the wall as gentle as he could. Aladdin didn't stir as he was moved. Abu took the gift, wrapped it back in it's cloth and placed it to the side.

"Good news, none of his bones are broken and he's breathing fine and dandy - well...a little rusty maybe, but at least he's doing well on his own. Other than that, I don't know what's wrong with him. What happened?" Genie asked, sadness in his voice.

Abu recounted everything up until the point he remembered in a series of screeches and visual demonstrations.

"So let me sum it all up: you three were in the marketplace getting fruit. Heard a merchant cry for help. Al and Iago find and trap the thief, but broke what he stole - sort of - then the thief disappears, follows you three back here, and somehow he sent you two to beddybye without you knowing what happened to Al?"

Both Iago and Abu said the same thing at the exact same time. "Uh huh."

"Not only that, the monkey pulled out some kinda weird needle out of Al's shoulder. Don't know if that was done by whoever that guy was or if it's just at random."

"With all the mess in here, I wouldn't doubt it's just second hand. Still, only guy who knows among us four...and the carpet...what happened after that is Al. We'll have to wait until he wakes up."

"You're assuming 'until'. What if he doesn't wake up?!" Iago said worriedly. "What if that guy put him under some kind of sleeping spell where it lasts a hundred years? We'll never find out what happened!"

Aladdin's head started to move a little, and he winced as she struggled to bring it upward.

"My feathered friend, you're always too negative. Look, he's starting to wake now." Genie said matter of factly.

Abu rushed over to Aladdin's side, tugging at his left arm gently as Aladdin started stirring.

Aladdin opened his eyes for the first time since the encounter.

* * *

Aladdin awoke with a splitting headache and seething pain in his right shoulder, but he didn't open his eyes right away. He thought he heard Genie and Iago's voices in the background but wondered if it was just a figment of his imagination, or even a dream. Yet, when he felt something tug at his left arm, he knew he wasn't dreaming, and groaned as he felt himself lift his head and opened his eyes.

It came as a shock to his senses because he thought he heard maniacal laughter and he nearly jumped and yelled at the sound in his ears.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Al, buddy, calm down. You've been through a tough night, kid."

"Genie...is that you?"

"The 'One and Only', with semi-phenomenal-nearly-cosmic-power. You okay?"

"I think so...but...ahh...my shoulder hurts."

Genie turned himself into something of a nurse like figure. "Just take two aspirin, and you'll be better by the morning, dear. Some sleep will do you good and a nice warm bowl of chicken soup."

"Forget the soup! I still wanna know what happened and....ahhhhhh!" Iago met Aladdin's gaze and yelled, pointing straight at Aladdin with a wing.

"What's wrong, Iago?" Aladdin asked, a puzzled expression crossing his face, as he had his eyes fully open then.

Abu seemed to look at where Iago was pointing and screeched in surprise as well.

"What the heck happened to your eyes?! They look really weird! Freaky! Monster!"

"Monster?!" Aladdin felt his heart leap in his throat. Genie transformed into his normal form and whipped out a magnifying glass, studying Aladdin's eyes carefully under the light of the moon.

"Hmm...no monster inside, just exposure to an unusually high amount of mystic power - directed on him no doubt. Turns human and animal eyes a lighter color than they usually are, pupils too. Lasts for a day, maybe two, saw it happen to a guy when I went to Serbia. Or was it that guy in Montenegro? I think his eyes actually stayed that way..."

"Genie!"

"Re-lax Al, I'm kidding. If a banged up shoulder and some high exposure to magic is all you got out of the run-in you had, I think you're doing a-okay. But your place took a harder beating than you did. Don't think you can call this a fixer upper."

"I don't feel okay - this place is trashed, my shoulder hurts...and add to that a headache. I think I'm hearing things that aren't there."

"That's it; he's crazy. Let's commit him before he does something stupid. _Oww_!" Carpet had found a nearby twig and hit Iago on the crown. "Stupid rug! I oughtta...never mind. I just wanna go back to sleep."

"Oh no, it's nightfall already? How long was I out?!" Aladdin said.

"Longer than the monkey or me. You had us all worried, ya know?!"

Aladdin sighed, exasperated. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself." Genie said comfortingly.

"It is, Genie. If I hadn't chased after that thief, none of this would have ever happened..."

"Hang on - stop right there. You do a good deed, and you go blaming yourself wishing it never happened. WRONG! What you did was right; you're a hero. If anything, it's whatever psychopath decided to cross you three."

"But Genie, if I hadn't, we probably would have been back to the palace, and Jasmine....oh no, Jasmine..." Aladdin ran his hand through his hair, exasperated. "You guys can't tell her anything about this. With it being so close to our anniversary, I don't want her to worry."

"My lips are sealed. I just wanna forget the whole thing happened as quickly and as painlessly as possible." Iago said, folding his wings together. Abu nodded in agreement.

"I guess I'd better tell you guys what happened after Abu and Iago were knocked out. I thought they were done for."


	4. Chapter 4: Grenden

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

**Grenden**

"You." Aladdin's expression turned angry as he viewed the thief from his encounter in Agrabah earlier.

"I knew that guy would find us!" Iago said, and Abu screeched in alarm.

"It wasn't hard to find you, street rat. I followed all of you back from the merchant's lair. Fools you are, you lead me right into your home. Now, will you provide me a proper introduction?"

"I don't recall ever inviting you to my home, so I won't give you my name, especially since you haven't given me yours." Aladdin said angrily as he met the strange thief.

"Oh, where are my manners." The figure slurred, his eyes glowing red, and his clothing fully covered his figure, with gloves on his hands and heavy boots on his feet. "I am Grenden, a poison mystic. And you interfered with an important mission of mine, boy."

"Oh really? Well, if any mission of yours involved harming a innocent street merchant, I think you play the wrong game with the wrong people."

"Game you say? I play no games. If you know not of my power, then I shall show it to you, starting with your companions. " His hand seemed to fill with something like sand, then turned into a red, mystic dust, and he blew it in the direction of both Iago and Abu.

"Iago! Abu!" But Aladdin's warning came too late as the mist hovered over the two, making Abu succumb to it just before he reached the ledge of the window. Iago was a little slower to react to it. "What the heck's happening, sleeping powder?!"

"No, my feathered friend - sleeping poison. It will wear off in time, if you survive it."

"No you don't, leave him alone. Iago, GO!" But Aladdin found himself unable to move, his arms raising above his head as if he were shackled. "NO!"

"Al!" Iago tried to fly over to Aladdin, but the mystic blew the same red dust in Iago's direction, and Iago finally succumbed to the trance. "I'm so sleepy..." he fell not far from where Aladdin was located.

"You two faced jackal!" Aladdin faced Grenden angrily.

"You only brought this upon yourself. So, your name is Al?"

"No, it's Aladdin. Those are my friends and that's what they call me. You won't get away with what you've done to them." He continued to fight the invisible bonds that bound him, but they seemed to grow tighter each time he struggled with them.

"Go on, then, Aladdin. Fight them. But it would be far too easy to kill you now in your bonds, so I'll give you a slow death. A slow, nightmarish death. You see, I didn't submit you friends to the same pain - dust is merely an agent. My weapon of choice is much smaller, but hits it's mark. But I suppose before I submit you to it, I should weaken your will a bit." He raised one hand, and Aladdin felt his body rise, and he was thrown across the room, hitting one of the side walls with his right shoulder, then thrown to the ground, and then thrown against a stack of pots. Aladdin felt the wind knock out of him with each hit, and when he was brought to the ground, his bounds released, and he clutched his shoulder in pain.

"So, Aladdin, I think you have something that belongs to me - my sword perhaps? Should I search your room for it? Very well, then. I'll destroy everything to get it back!" Aladdin watched in horror as several of the items in the room were demolished in streams of darkness exploding into light, and he had to cover his eyes behind his arms. When Aladdin looked up again, his hiding place had been reduced to piles of debris.

"No...." he expression went from horror to anger, and Aladdin came to his feet, and hurled himself at Grenden, knocking him to the floor. Grenden seemed startled for a moment, and Aladdin was able to land a few punches to the mystic, but Grenden used his powers to knock Aladdin from his feet, into the place where Aladdin had kept his gift to Jasmine, and it unfurled from it's handkerchief to the floor.

Grenden took the opportunity to pick it up. "What's this? A street rat admiring a princess of all things? What a laugh." He laughed. "You don't have a chance."

Aladdin took a moment, and swung his legs to trip Grenden, the same tactic he'd used earlier to startle the mystic, and caught the gift just as it flew from Grenden's hands. He also picked up the handkerchief he'd used to wrap it in.

"For your information, she's my wife. And if you even think of touching her..."

"Your...wife?" Grenden was truly shocked, but then his laugh echoed through the walls, wild, loud, and savagely. "Well, I suppose she'll be a widow soon." He used a magic blast to knock Aladdin from his feet, and into a pile of debris. By this time, Aladdin couldn't move, and the gift still lay in his hand, he gripped it so it wouldn't fall, but he looked up too late at the looming figure of Grenden.

"Now it begins, Aladdin. My revenge. And the poison that will reach your heart will be my victory." Aladdin saw a flash of something silver, and yelled as he felt his shoulder explode in pain. His vision started to blur, and Grenden's laughing figure was the last thing he saw, before his blood congealed.

* * *

Genie, Carpet, Iago, and Abu all sat in silence as Aladdin finished telling his part of the tale. Genie put a comforting arm around Aladdin's shoulder.

"I thought I was gonna die." Aladdin said.

"All right, when we see that Grenden guy again, or whatever his name is, he's gonna get slugged for putting me to sleep. And poison mystic? LAME title." Iago said, frustrated. "Though I think it's better if we don't see him again."

"Poison mystics can craft all kinds of dangerous magic, explains the exposure Al got being tossed around like that." Genie mused and frowned at the thought. "If all of you survived that, then you're safe. Maybe he thought Al's will wasn't strong enough to beat the poison. But look at him - he's awake and raring to go." Genie transformed into his kid form and shook Aladdin's head. "That's my buddy!"

"Genie...headache..."

"Oh, sorry, Al. Common for any kind of mystic poison....you get a big bad headache." His form shifted to a resemblance of the Big Bad Wolf.

"That explains why I got one too!" Iago gingerly touched his head. "Though Carpet didn't exactly help with his TWIG!" Carpet shook his limbs, and seemed to profusely apologize.

"I think we should go back to the Palace. Whoever Grenden was, he's gone...somewhere, but it's not safe for me to stay here right now. Not like this anyway." Aladdin smiled painfully.

"If you're worried about a little thing like your place being smashed, I can fix that in a jiffy. Though it may not be exactly a return to form." Genie summoned his powers and started restoring everything in the room, embellishing it with his own powers. When he was done, "There, see? Good as new. Though I thought I add a couple of of things - this place was looking a little drabby."

"Thanks Genie." Aladdin tried to stand, but he felt his legs give way, and Carpet flew just in time to catch him.

"Easy now Al, I don't think you're strong enough to take your own weight. What with that guy swinging you around looking for his weapon."

"That reminds me, did Grenden ever take his sword back?" Iago asked non-chalantly.

Abu saw a flash in the corner of the place where Aladdin usually slept, and he went toward it, dragging the hilt of the sword from beneath the covers.

"It was there all along." Aladdin said surprised, as he sat up on Carpet. "Wonder why he left it, unless he's using that to track us. That's probably how he followed us here."

"Let me check it out." Genie, used his powers to bring the sword to him, catching Abu off-guard. "Well, from what I can tell, there's no kind of mystic power on this sword. It's just a regular one, with many diamonds on it, I might add."

"Oh, _thank you_. That means we can keep it."

"Well, it's yours, Iago, if you can carry it." Aladdin challenged.

"With pleasure." Iago tried to lift the sword from the Genie's hands, but ended up falling flat to the ground with the weight of both the sword and sheath.

"Okay, you win, I can't carry this thing on my own. At least let me sell it so we can turn a profit."

"Maybe tomorrow." Aladdin said. "Though I'm going to have to give Jasmine some excuse as to why my shoulder's out and my eyes are weird."

"Sleep." Abu said, pointing to Aladdin.

"I know, Abu. I will."

"I agree with Abu - let's go home and get some shut eye." Genie noted, and all of them boarded Carpet and flew off into the night towards the grandly lit palace. Aladdin wondered if he'd ever see Grenden again. He knew, somehow, this wasn't the end of things. Nothing was ever that easy.


	5. Chapter 5: The First Morning

**The First Morning**

"I daresay that Aladdin's running a bit late for breakfast this morning." The Sultan said, reading himself for his meal. Jasmine silently agreed with her father, but made a point to defend him.

"Father, he was out all night helping Genie with the preparations for the banquet. Abu and Iago too. Maybe we should let them sleep a little while longer."

"Well, if they've done such fine deeds, then I suppose it's quite all right. It's just that it feels a bit empty without their jolly company this morning. Not that I don't enjoy yours, my daughter."

Jasmine smiled softly, but worried a little that Aladdin might be working a little too hard in the preparations, despite his willingness to help. Before she could say anything else, Genie came out with their breakfast, chanting in a Frenchman's voice, and dressed in a dapper suit with bowtie.

"Breakfast is served, _monsieur_ and _mademoiselle_. Bon_ appetit_."

"Genie, this meal looks absolutely wonderful. Is this the kind of meal we can come to expect from you in the anniversary banquet?" The sultan was pleased and happy, almost like a little kid in a candy store.

"But of course, and even be-tter, _merci_. I shall give you the finest feast in all of Agrabah, _oui_?" Genie said, his accent thick and confident.

"Genie, do you think you can take Aladdin, Iago and Abu their meals for this morning? I know they've been working so hard to help you."

"But of course, _mon cherie_. I will do anything to make sure that the lady is pleased." Genie said, but under his breath added a note to Jasmine, returning to his regular voice. "I think you'd better leave Al alone for the day, Jas. He wasn't doing so hot last night, probably after cleaning up all those dust bunnies in his place. Bleh."

"Maybe I should go look in on him and give him a lecture - he shouldn't be working so hard to make himself sick." she said firmly.

"No, that's okay. Probably better the lecture come from me since he's trying so hard to help me. Iago and Abu should be up soon though, so they might join you in a little bit."

"Okay. Please do so - I'm really worried about him."

"Relax, no worrywarts in the days before your anniversary, eh? Any luck with the gift ideas?"

"Not even a peaceful Agrabah's sleep could make me have any ideas, Genie. Oh, what am I going to do?"

"Don't worry Jas, you'll think of something, and if you don't then I'll help out. I'll ask Abu and Iago if they have any ideas. Maybe even the Rug-man might have something."

"Thanks Genie, that makes me feel so much better."

"No problem." Genie winked and returned to his Frenchman's voice.

"So, who would like some fruit for a morning dessert?"

Genie came into Aladdin's room shortly after serving Jasmine and the Sultan breakfast, and Aladdin was just awakening, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"Ah, ze Prince is now awake for his breakfast! And in bed service, as you will."

"Thanks Genie." Aladdin said weakly, gingerly holding his shoulder, but firmly.

"Rough night?" Genie returned to his regular voice.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep much. Kept having this nightmare, of everything that happened with Grenden. Kept playing it over and over in my mind...the moment that...I almost..."

"Al...I didn't know you were taking it that hard. Come on, kid, don't beat yourself up about it. It's over. And Jasmine's agreed to let you off for the day. I'm supposed to give you a lecture about working too hard."

"She said that?"

"Nah, I actually suggested it, so she wouldn't do it herself."

"Aww man." Aladdin grimaced, but he found himself smiling regardless.

"You know she loves you, right?"

"Yeah, I know. That's why I hate keeping secrets from her."

"Al, maybe it's better you tell her now, so it doesn't get complicated for you later, if you feel that bad about it. Besides, she'll appreciate you being honest."

"I don't know, Genie. I just...want her to be happy. On our first anniversary - it's the only time we'll have it and I don't want to mess it up by telling her someone was trying to kill me."

"'Was' being the keyword in that equation. I don't think you have to worry about Grenden."

"But Genie...."

Genie opened the lid to Aladdin's breakfast plate, took a spoonful of the meal, and put in Aladdin's mouth before he had the chance to say anything else. Aladdin was startled, his eyes going a little swirly at the gesture, but Genie grinned, and reverted back to his Frenchman's voice.

"Ah, I see you like ze cuisine, I made it myself, _oui_? No other chef can come close to my brilliant recipe. Mwah." Genie blew a kiss into the air. Aladdin swallowed, and Genie shoved another mouthful of the delicacy into his mouth.

"Genie..." Aladdin began, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, uh, uh. No talking with ze mouthful. Food makes for a merry man, oui? Plus you could use a little more meat on ze bones."

Aladdin swallowed, and found himself laughing. "You always know how to cheer someone up."

"Hey, it's a living." Genie reverted back to his normal voice and smiled softly. "Take it easy, kiddo. I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks."

Genie left a little while after that, and Aladdin was left alone in his room. He looked in one of the mirrors, and noticed the off-set color of his eyes for the first time. It made him look strange, but not abnormal - just not himself. He thought Iago and Abu probably freaked out because it was under the light of the moon, but in daylight, it just looked strange more than scary, like he was tired.

"Well, since I have another day with this thing, might as well get some shut eye." He yawned and stretched his limbs, closing his eyes as he did so.

However, when he opened them, he saw something of a shadow in the reflection of the mirror, crouched on one of the lamps in the room, and readying blood red claws to leap upon him. Aladdin's eyes widened in horror, and he shouted, turning around to brace himself...but the figure wasn't there.

"What?" He looked back in the mirror and the figure wasn't there. Just the regular lantern. He sighed, putting his hands over his face briefly.

"Maybe Iago was right. Maybe I am going crazy."

* * *

"I'm so tired, I need a vacation for a month." Iago pulled a spare pillow over his head in one of the palace lounges.

"Uh huh." Abu agreed, laying on a spare pillow not far from Iago.

"Not only that, I'm starving. And you know how I get when I'm stressed. I eat until I can't eat no more."

"Uh huh, uh huh."

"I don't feel like getting up outta this place to go fly in the kitchen." Iago threw the pillow off and spread his wings. "But if I don't, I'm gonna die of hunger."

"No worries." Genie came in with plates full of food, speaking in a Frenchman's accent. "It is ze Princess that ordered me to serve you this morning Breakfast in Bed. _Bon appetit_!"

"Thank you." Abu said, grabbing as much food as he could and stuffing it in his mouth. Iago grabbed a bunch of grapes, ate it in about a minute, and grabbed another bunch where he ate from it slowly. "Okay, now I'm satiated. 'Bout time you came with the goods."

"Hey, don't take advantage of my good cuisine. No, I kid, I kid. Have all you like." Genie winked and transformed back into his usual form. "Okay, I gotta stop talking in this accent, it's scratching my throat."

"Aladdin?" Abu asked worriedly.

"Ah, he's fine. Gave him breakfast not long before you two."

"Whaddya worried about, monkey? If Genie says he's peachy, then he's peachy. I think we should just forget all about whoever his name is, and concentrate on the party. See that, I even forgot his name."

"Probably because you wanted to, Iago. Ah well...there's still a lot to be done around the Palace today. Hmm." Genie mused. "I wonder if we can spice up the place a little. What colors do people usually use on first anniversaries?"

"I don't know." Abu shrugged.

"Me neither. With all your semi-phenomenal-cosmic-powers, shouldn't YOU know?!" Iago downed the last of the grapes, threw it to the side, and crossed his wings impatiently.

"Hmm. Maybe I should look it up." Genie magically summoned a book, which he flipped through and glanced with a reading magnifying glass. "Ooh, first anniversaries should be decorated with colors, either gold or yellow."

"Gold? Did you say gold?" Iago perked up.

"Not that kind of gold, my fine feathered friend. Just the color. Though it actually wouldn't be a bad idea to liven this place up a bit. Let's see. Golden streamers, balloons, tablecloths, flowers..."

"This is gonna take forever." Iago said, while Genie continued to make and read off a long list of supplies.

"Uh huh." Abu said wearily, wishing he'd stayed asleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Retracing Steps

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

**Retracing Steps**

Aladdin allowed himself to sneak past the guards that evening as he made his way out of the palace in a cloak over his head and shoulders. He headed out into the courtyard of the palace to slip over the palace wall. He'd slept for most of the day, but the one thing he couldn't get out of him mind in dream and waking was why Grenden had been after the gem that Baram had. He decided he'd find out for himself, even if it was just a second look. If it wasn't anything, he'd let the past be the past.

"It'd be much easier if I had Carpet doing this with me." he said, He was nearly startled by a low growl, of which he realized was Rajah, the royal tiger and Jasmine's longtime pet and friend.

"Easy Rajah, it's just me." Aladdin smiled. Rajah calmed as he recognized Aladdin's scent and tackled him to the ground, licking his face. Aladdin was just glad that Rajah didn't tackle his sore shoulder, the big overgrown cat that he was.

"Okay, okay. I'm glad to see you too. But I think I might need your help distracting the guard. I'm trying to go back into the marketplace - do you think you can help me?"

Rajah nodded, seeming to understand, and started over to where Razoul and the other guards were discussing their plans on how best to protect the palace.

"You know the Prince and Princess are going to have their festivities in the next few days, men, and that means more often than not, we will have to contend with thieves and stowaways. You will need to be on your best guard, even better than you were during the Wedding almost a year ago. You never know what kind of rogues may show themselves."

"But Razoul - can't we take part in the festivities for just a little while? The Prince and Princess only have one First Anniversary, you know?"

"NO! You are on guard at all times, soldier, and if I see you goofing off even once..." Razoul stared the attending guard between the eyes, and unfurled his sword. "You will face consequences - get it?!"

"Y-yes sir."

Suddenly, the men heard Rajah growl furiously.

"Ahh! It's the tiger!"

"You fool, it's just Rajah, our Princess' pet."

"But why is it growling like that?"

"Maybe Rajah saw something, you idiots! Quickly, search the perimeter." Razoul marched over to where Rajah was standing, and the two attending guards followed behind him as Aladdin slipped through the front gates, and headed out into the heart of Agrabah.

* * *

"Ah Aladdin, you caught me just as I was packing up for the eve. All dressed in your formal clothes too, I see. Are you buying items on behalf of the Palace again?"

"Hey Baram, not really. I was wondering if you still had that stone that the thief tried to steal from you yesterday. Is it possible that I could borrow it from you?"

"Borrow? Hmph." Baram scoffed. "Matter of fact, I'd be happy to give it to you free of charge. That stone has brought nothing but bad luck to my business. First that awful thief, and then very little business through today. Not only that, it has a crack that I didn't notice on the stone before."

"It does?" Aladdin tried to make his voice sound surprised, though he knew it was on behalf of his and Iago's encounter with Grenden yesterday that had cracked the gem.

"Indeed. Oh, I should have inspected it much more carefully. Ah well. Take it, my boy. It's yours."

"I appreciate it, Baram." Aladdin handled the gem carefully as Baram placed it in his outstretched hands. It was about palm-sized and a little heavy, but shone a beautiful green. It was the first time Aladdin had handled it since yesterday when bringing it back to the merchant.

"So, if I may ask, what do you plan to do with it?" Baram asked, quizzical.

"Try to figure out why that thief tried to steal it."

"That's simple, he probably thought it was valuable and could sell it for a pretty penny himself."

Aladdin sighed. "Somehow, I think there's more to it than that."

"Oh? You truly think the gem is cursed?!"

"No, no, nothing like that. But...if there's anything more to it, I'll let you know."

"Heh, no need. You're more of the adventurous type than I, Aladdin. I have no need for mystic tales, curses and legends, I just want to live out my days as a merchant, traveling when I can. That's more than enough for me."

"I'll take you to your word then, Baram. Have a good evening."

"You too, my boy, you too. And be sure to treat your young wife well!"

Aladdin smiled as he headed towards his hiding place, carrying the gem under his cloak so no one else could see it.

* * *

"_Ahhhhh_!" Genie exclaimed as he looked around the decorative throne room of the palace. "I knew there was something that I forgot. Oh, how could I have missed it?!"

"What's wrong with you?" Iago said. "We just put up all of these decorations by ourselves, and you think something's wrong with them that YOU forgot something?!"

"Uh huh." Abu agreed, worn out. Indeed, all three of them had been putting decorations up around the palace and working around the area for most of the day, and as the night fell, it was only then that Genie realized what he'd forgotten.

"No, no, no. It's not the decorations, I forgot about Al and Jas's clothes. What are they going to wear?!" Genie shapeshifted into a panicked fashion designer. "We have to order the cloths, the colors, the accessories, and everything. Oh, my life is ruined. Horrible, I say, horrible."

"So whaddya think we should do? Ask Jasmine and Al if they would try on clothes or somethin'?"

"Actually...." Genie reverted back to his usual self. "That's not a bad idea. Jasmine's might take a longer time to design, but Al's should be easy. I think I'll do Jasmine's first."

Genie conjured up a spell, taking a dummy doll and placing various elements on it - a golden, form fitting dress with dark golden trims, frills, bows, lace...then Genie realized it was too much. "No that won't do. Let's take off the bows and the frills definitely. Ooh, the midriff should show like this, and the tail of the dress should be like this...and then the bodice should be like this..."

"You're gettin' way too into this." Iago said, slapping his forehead with a wing. "What are you, some kind of fashionista?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm very metrosexual." Genie transformed into a dapper gentleman with glistening teeth and blonde curly hair. "I like to have my manicures, pedicures, and cuticles all squeaky clean. Not to mention my hair gel just isn't right, child. And you know I can't go without my hair being absolutely perfect."

"Wake me up when it's over." Iago said, but was knocked from his feet when Carpet came flying into the room at full speed in alarm. "Watch where you're goin', _will ya_?!"

Carpet seemed to not care as he whipped around Genie in circles, causing Genie to get dizzy and revert back to form. "Okay...he's definitely trying to tell us something." Genie grabbed Carpet in mid-air, and transformed himself into a psychologist, with Carpet stretched out on a giant couch.

"So, tell me my good fellow, what is on your mind?"

Carpet seemed to make a series of motions, and Genie concluded well what he meant.

"So you are saying that Aladdin is up and out of his room, you say. Well, that is hardly troubling news - he's been sleeping most of the day. Everyone needs a little exercise, which by the way, have you had a bit too much lately? You're looking a little thin."

Carpet grabbed Genie by the collar and pointed outside the palace walls.

"So you're saying he's gone out - well that's nice."

"That's NOT nice, you blue palooka! He's got a _psychopath_ after him and he's ALONE!" Iago said. Abu screeched equally in alarm.

Genie suddenly took the news in fully. "WHAT?!"

* * *

Aladdin found himself back at his usual hiding place, turning the stone over in his hands gently. The sword that he'd received from Grenden was back in the palace treasury. Despite Iago wanting to sell it for profit, Aladdin decided it would be better to stow it away, and Iago had reluctantly agreed.

"I still don't know what he might have wanted this for. And I remember he said that if it was cracked, he couldn't use it. But how exactly would he have used it?"

It was only then that Aladdin saw the gem glowing in his hands, and gazed at it with amazement as it seemed to pull up a hologram of something - a small image of a man not much older than he was. The figure started to speak, a regal tone but in a weakening voice. Aladdin gasped as he saw the man had only the whites of his eyes and was in a crouched position.

"....I have...I am....my death is...by the poison. My heart, my spirit have become one for his use - forever enslaved in darkness. He can control hearts at whim with the poison, and he takes pleasure in the pain of secrecy and conflict - appearing and disappearing as he pleases, so that even your closest friends think you're mad. Do not be like me...speak nothing to anyone save your one Confidant, who should never be one to reveal your curse. If you hear this message now, then you are under the effects of the very same poison. A poison that ensures a terrorizing death, unless you break its terms. Or unless, you are able to find its anecdote.

"Find the source of his power in the distant realm of Lamrai- the shadows may frighten you, but they can't harm you, lest you allow fear to take hold. Only you can see them. Flee if you see him...the one called Grenden...you cannot fight him and he will continue to bring you as close to death as he can, when he can. You...must destroy him before others, aside from your confidant, learn of your curse, or you...will meet...my fate..."

The message cut off, and the gem started to get hot in Aladdin's hands, so much that he dropped it, and it shattered into many pieces, dissolving into sparkling grains of sand.

"What....was that...?" Aladdin said, his voice not masking the horror and confusion he felt by the whole message. He was cursed? Poisoned even? One thing he did know for certain, Grenden was definitely bad news, and he never wanted to cross paths with him again.

But just as he had that thought, the poison mystic appeared before him again.

"We meet again, Aladdin. Fool you are to return alone to the place where I summoned your death."


	7. Chapter 7: Search

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

**Search**

"Al! Al, where are you?!" Genie called out. "I know Rajah said something about him going to the marketplace, but didn't say where."

"Aladdin." Abu noted sadly while looking over where Carpet was flying.

"Don't worry, my furry friend. We'll find him and make sure nothing else happens to him in good measure." Genie had transformed into an impersonation of Sherlock Holmes. "Now if I were Aladdin, where would I be at this hour? Of course, I would be in my hiding place! But that wouldn't be a very smart idea to go back there, not after Grenden made a mess of the place yesterday."

"He's gotta be crazy wandering around Agrabah at this hour, with that guy still lookin' for 'im. What if he already met up with him or somethin'?!" Iago said, pacing around on Carpet as they flew above the city.

Abu gave a sudden screech and pointed just in front of them. Genie and Iago noticed the sight only after Abu did.

A dark cloud with brilliant beams of light rumbling out of it was at a close distance away. When the form emerged from the clouds, Iago squawked.

"Please tell me that ain't who I think it is..."

_*** * ***_

"What have you done to me, Grenden? And if you're looking for your sword again, it's not here" Aladdin said, his anger unmasked in his voice.

"I thought you'd be more fearful, street rat - and I could care less about the sword - I have something much stronger at my disposal than mere physical weaponry. I've only placed you under a curse, which by now, I think you saw in that pretty gem you were carrying. That was once a powerful soul that had succumbed to my magic, and I planned to harness it with my power. Now you've gone and ruined that, since you cracked it....but no matter. You are under the same curse he once was, as administered by the needle I placed in your arm - small and insignificant, but very deadly. Think of it as a game, you see. The curse implies that only one, other than yourself can know you're under this prolonged poison. He, or she, is your 'Confidant.' You must find the anecdote before anyone other than your confidant finds out about the terms of your curse. Or you die. If you tell any other than your confidant of the terms, you'll also die. And if you don't find it within three days time, you die by the morning after the third day. So you see, you're already one day behind, my boy."

"But Genie and the others already know you poisoned me, and that you're after me for foiling your so called plan, at least when you stole it from Baram."

"Oh, but they all believe it's over. That you overcame the poison when you awoke the other night, and as for the theft - that was only a cover. But they are wrong, it's still flowing through you. Surely you've heard the voices and seen the shadows by now?"

"They...were real?"

"Precisely - not just figments of your imagination, but very much you are the only person that can see them. And you are the only person that can see me - at least for now. Your Genie and the others should be encountering my physical form soon. I am keen let them think they've destroyed me. But you and I know differently. So the wheels of my plan are in motion, and my revenge against you will be very sweet. Not only that, when you die, not IF, your soul will become mine. They say the stronger the spirit, the stronger the power that can be derived from it. And you, street rat, have one of the strongest spirits I've ever come across. How convenient I come into Agrabah searching for the perfect soul, and I find it right in front of me."

"You will never have my soul."

"You sound so sure."

"I am. And I'm not playing your stupid game."

"You have no choice. It has already begun. And just in case you're in some measure of doubt, how about I give you a reminder of your experience yesterday." Grenden clenched his right fist, and Aladdin felt his vision blur again.

It was the last memory Aladdin had of Grenden, just before the mystic disappeared, his laugh echoing into the night.

* * *

Genie saw the cloaked figure with burning red eyes emerge from the smoke, after Iago had made his remark.

"That's Grenden, the poison mystic?" Genie asked.

"Yeah, same guy that tried to kill us all yesterday." Iago confirmed, his voice trembled and eyes swirled with fear.

"Greetings, it seems you remember me well - Abu and the loud one named Iago." Grenden said. "But I don't think I've been introduced to the genie and that magic carpet. I suppose you already know my name, though, so it wouldn't do me any good to introduce myself."

"Let me cut right to the point - where's Al?" Genie said.

"Oh, the one you call Al, or Aladdin, is back in his little residence in the city. I'm afraid he's not, as we say, feeling very well. Last I heard, he had trouble breathing."

"What?!" Iago said. "All right, this guy is gettin' on my nerves. Let's get OUTTA HERE!"

"I'm inclined to agree with you Iago. Let's get to Al." Genie said.

"Oh, no. I think you're mistaken. If you want to get to your friend, you'll have to deal with me first. And I have no intention of letting you pass." In that moment, the mystic used his power to cripple carpet, causing them all to fall off. Iago was able to take to his wings in time before landing on top of a nearby building, and Genie was able to catch Abu before he fell past that same building. Carpet regained his senses and flew to them atop the building. Grenden remained in the sky, floating at his own pace and his burning red eyes seemed to smile.

"Whew. That was too close. All right, if this guy's gonna be difficult, he'll have to go through my magic." Genie wiggled his fingers and aimed magic straight at Grenden, who kept dodging the beams.

"Where the heck's your aim, Genie?! You're missin' him by miles!"

"We'll have to slow him down. Scatter around into the city and we'll corner him. Abu you come with me, Carpet, you stay with Iago. Let's boogie!"

"I get the rug, and he gets the monkey, oh sure. I might as well sign my will right here....ahh!" Several blasts of magic scattered around them.

Iago and Carpet swept down into the streets of Agrabah, and Grenden felt they were the easier targets, so he went after them, ignoring Abu and the Genie.

"Now he's after us!" Iago said.

"Better to get rid of the loudmouth bird before anything else."

"Help me out ALREADY!" Iago flew as fast as he could through the city streets, and Genden aimed his beams just barely missing the bird, as he followed him. Just when Grenden had a good aim on Iago, Carpet flew straight into Grenden's face, blinding him.

"What?!!!" The two of them crashed into a nearby wall, and Genie and Abu caught up to Iago just as Carpet and Grenden began to tussle.

"Genie, if you're gonna aim, aim NOW please!" Iago shouted.

Genie didn't hesitate and aimed at Grenden's heart, just as Carpet got away. Grenden's body flew into an opposite wall, and he yelled in agony. His hood flew back, revealing a human with rotting flesh.

"AHHHHHH!" Iago and Abu yelled at the same time.

"That guy has no skin!" Iago said. But Genie kept his magic steady, as Grenden's figure melted into a dark pool of ash, fading away into the night.

Genie blew his fingers off as if they were smoking guns. "Well, that wasn't as hard as it looked."

"Are you kiddin' ME?" Iago said. "He nearly fried my wings off!"

"I wouldn't have let him do that. Besides, he's fried more than rotisserie gold now." Genie said, turning into his kid form. "You're my bestest buddies in the whole wide world and I'll hug ya and squeeze ya, and never, ever let you go." He said hugging Abu, Carpet, and Iago close.

"Okay, I get that, now let me physically go before I really lose a lung."

Abu screeched, and tugged at Genie's arm. "Aladdin! Aladdin!"

Genie remembered, and let all three of them go. "Just hope we're not too late to help him." He gulped. "Al, we're coming for ya. Hang on." They all piled aboard Carpet, and flew towards Aladdin's usual place.

* * *

Aladdin had awoken not long after Grenden disappeared, and weakly sat up from where he had fallen, his head pounding and his shoulder aching just as prominently as the evening before. He felt like he just relieved the whole experience of the previous evening, only this time, he awoke alone.

"I need to get out of here before something else happens." But just as he said that and returned to his feet by leaning against a wall, what he saw before him made him freeze in place.

Two large beasts had appeared not far from where he stood, snarling and growling viciously. They looked like wolves, but instead of fur, they were composed in streams of burning shadows, their eyes burning silver, and their teeth sharp and hanging over their jaws.

"I...am in so much trouble. Wait....these guys feed on fear - so if I'm not afraid of them, they can't harm me."

"Wrong, street rat. They feed on any kind of fear, and they know you fear me right now, so it makes you an easy target."

"Grenden?!"

"You hear my voice, don't you? I would run away while I still had the chance, boy."

The beasts looked ready to pounce in Aladdin's direction.

"I guess I'd better take his advice, though I don't really want to." Aladdin tore off his cloak and threw it upon the eyes of the beasts, as leapt upon his bed and jumped out of the window as quickly as he could, hoping he'd land well enough to get away. The beasts fought against the garment a moment, tearing it apart, before leaping after him.

* * *

"Aladdin!" Genie, Iago, Abu and Carpet arrived at Aladdin's usual place, but they found it empty.

"Where the heck is he?!" Iago said. "I hope that...that thing we just fought didn't lie to us."

Abu started screeching, and pointed to a hood that had been ripped to shreds.

"Wait a minute, he was here. This is his cloak - I'd know it by sight."

"That means he's alive?!" Iago said.

"I think so, but he might have been running from something, if I know my buddy well enough." Genie said cheerfully. "Maybe Grenden didn't get a chance to hurt him, but I got a bad feeling if it's torn like this. Let's split up and look for him, he can't be too far away."

* * *

Aladdin ran as fast as he could through the streets, turning corners quickly to evade the beasts that hurried after him, howling and baring their fangs and claws in the moonlit night.

He'd landed well enough in the street, after safely jumping from a few overhead sheets over some of the stands below his place, but he didn't have enough time to stop for a breath as he saw the beasts from the window, and he ran east. He hadn't run through Agrabah in a while, not since he was a regular pickpocket thief, so he had to rely on his memory to know what corners to turn and when to time them. The beasts had caught up with him a few times, clawing at his sleeves and at his ankles, tearing the fabric of his garments, but never touching him. He blessed his luck that he had enough distance between them now, and he thought he would be able to outrun them.

At least until he saw the third beast.

He leapt from a nearby corner, causing Aladdin, to be thrown from his feet, and roll into an alley with his back hitting hard against a wall. He was stunned for a moment before weakly opening his eyes, and saw the three beast slowly approaching him, as if he were prey.

"No...ahh..." he tried to get to his feet, but felt himself paralyzed with both fear and pain, and he noticed a large bruise on his arm from where the third beast had knocked him from his feet. Aladdin closed his eyes, and waited for the beasts to attack him as they leapt into mid-air.

"Al! Al! Where are you?!"

Aladdin's eyes snapped open as the beasts dissolved into mid-air, and he recognized the voice calling out to him. The alley was quiet then. No beasts, no immediate danger...just the slight stir of wind taking up the sands of the alley.

"....Genie?" He recognized the voice, but it only came out as a whisper because his breath was completely out from running, and he couldn't talk.

"Al, come on already, if you're out here, say somethin'!"

"Aladdin!"

They were somewhere close by, but Aladdin couldn't tell from where they came. He was very tired, and he felt himself close his eyes, his breaths heavy and the pain in his arm reverberating through his senses. Somehow, after everything, he wanted to sleep, but he was glad that he was alive, and that his friends were looking for him.

* * *

"I thought you said he'd be somewhere close by, we've been looking around the Marketplace and everything and still haven't found him!" Iago said, frustrated.

"Okay, I think it might be better if we split up, individually this time." Genie noted thoughtfully.

"Good, that way I can look out for my own wings!" Iago said, flying off ahead of them.

"I guess the bird's determined. In any case, I'll go that way, and you and Carpet check those alleyways. Leave no pot unturned looking for Al." Genie told Abu and Carpet. They both nodded and went their separate ways.

Abu walked around the usual alleyway, knowing that Aladdin and him had gone through the streets for a long time, but without Aladdin, he was a little scared going by himself. He looked around corners, opened the lids of pots, even peeked in a few doorways to see if Aladdin had found a hiding space, but no luck on either (and he actually opened a door on a woman who threw pots at him for...well...being nosy.) There was another person, a merchant no doubt, who scolded him for snooping around the alleyway. He accused Abu of wanting to steal something. Abu grinned, and slyly slipped away before the merchant could give him unwanted attention from other places.

It wasn't until Abu turned the next corner, a dead end, when he saw Aladdin lying motionless in the corner alley. He screeched and ran as fast as he could to his friend, who lay with one hand clutching his arm and on his side, face forward down the alley.

Abu saw that Aladdin's silk garments were torn in shreds at the pant legs, and all the way up his sleeves in thin strips dangling from the seams. He pulled at Aladdin's limp hand, and Aladdin opened his eyes and smiled weakly.

"Abu...you're...okay."

Abu screeched happily, hugging Aladdin around his face and squeezing with joy.

"Okay...okay. I'm glad...to see you too. I can't move, though...." Aladdin tried to raise himself up, but he fell back in place. Abu screeched worriedly.

"No, I'm...all right. Just...really sore. Where's Genie, Carpet and Iago?"

Abu pointed frantically behind him.

"Ugh...I guess that means they split up to find me, so that means....we'll have to find them." He tried to sit up again, but Abu screeched frantically.

"No, no, no."

"Hey, monkey! What are you screeching about now? You're givin' me a headache already." Iago turned the corner, and stopped flying for moment as he saw Abu and Aladdin.

"AL! Say something to let me know you're not dead..."

"I'm not dead, Iago. I'm...okay."

"First of all, you're not okay. And second of all, what the HECK is wrong with YOU?! You go stormin' off from the palace without tellin' anybody, knowin' some guy's going after ya. What did you THINK would happen?! OWW!" Abu had knocked Iago on the top of the head at the latter assertion and scolded the bird in defense of Aladdin.

"No...Abu...he's right. I shouldn't...have left without at least telling you guys where I was going or what I wanted to do. I...Ahhh..." He winced in pain, noting the pain in his head, shoulder and arm - his vision went blurry again, and he could barely see in front of him.

"Okay...maybe I said too much, but seriously Al, you don't look so good. I'm gettin' Carpet and Genie and we're gettin' the heck outta here." From what Aladdin could tell, Iago looked genuinely worried.

"Iago...Abu..." Aladdin tried to keep himself conscious, but he found he couldn't fight the fatigue. His eyes closed, and his body went limp.

"Hey...Al...AL!" Iago called to him, but Iago's voice was drowned out by the darkness that poured over Aladdin's consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8: Fear

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

**Fear**

When Aladdin awoke, he realized that he was in his usual hiding place, but he believed the figure that sat at his feet was an overgrown beast that stared at him with bright green eyes and fangs that seemed to want to devour him. He yelled as the figure seemed to reach out for him and grab his shoulders, he could feel talons gripping into his flesh and they pinched him with an incredible amount of force.

"Al!"

"Genie?!"

"Hey, come on, snap out of it!"

"No! Stay away from me! Genie, where are you? I...I can't....No!" He could practically feel the creature breathing down on his face, as it leered over him, opening his jaws to devour him.

"NO! STOP!"

"Al, I'm right in front of you, you can't see me?"

Aladdin closed his eyes and opened them again to see Genie's worried face looking into his, while his hands gripped Aladdin's shoulders firmly.

"....Genie?" Aladdin could feel the sweat off his brow and his chest heaving uncontrollably.

"Al, calm down. What's wrong?"

"I...I..." He looked around the room, and saw Abu and Iago looking at him horrified. Carpet was not very far away, just stirring, but very alert. Aladdin looked back at Genie.

"Okay, for the record, I think Al was havin' some kind of nightmare." Iago said. "And I don't think I wanna know what he was dreamin' about, 'cause nightmares are contagious."

"Yeah, but that nightmare lasted for over a minute after I saw him wake up - he was sleeping fine before that. He saw me look at him and totally freaked out. You're scaring me, kid. I'm guessing whatever Grenden did to you earlier, he didn't pull punches." Genie frowned, a slightly angry expression crossing his features.

"I'm...I....no." Aladdin put his head in his hands. "No, I'm okay, Genie, I just need a minute."

"Sure." Genie let him go, as Aladdin's breaths evened out. Aladdin looked up again, and thought he saw a beast sitting behind Genie, and his eyes widened at first, but he shook his head, and the image went away.

"Al, what happened to you? And why did you leave the palace earlier...we didn't even know you were gone."

"I...didn't want anyone else to worry, that's why I went on my own. I went to Baram and asked if I could see the gem that Grenden was trying to steal..."

"Oh great, the gem was cursed!" Iago said, horrified.

"NO! No, I...I brought it back here since Baram said I could keep it. The spirit inside of it was good, it was a dying man...he was warning me about Grenden...what a bad person he was. That...he could control shadows as if they were real things." Aladdin didn't speak of the man's telling of the poisonous curse, but as he grimaced at the thought, he believed that description would suffice for now. "The gem self-destructed, I couldn't save it. Then...Grenden met and attacked me. When I woke up, he was gone."

"Gone?! That means he left you just when he met us." Iago said, slapping his wing over his forehead.

"Iago...Shhh!" Genie put a finger to his lips, and Iago covered his beak reflexively. "Keep going, Al. What happened after that?"

"I...I was chased by some horrible beasts. Grenden said to me they were deadly to me because they fed on fear, so I ran as fast as I could, but they attacked me, and I thought...I thought I..." Aladdin closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Oh no." Abu said sadly.

"All right, I think we can say he's got a good reason to be freaked out. I'm just glad that two-face jackal is gone!" Iago noted, grinning mischievously.

"Gone?" Aladdin said, surprised. "You mean, you guys..."

"Yep, one-two punch cornered him and he went poof! Though he looked like he was already wasting away - he was all skin and bones...more bones though." Genie recalled. "With poison mystics, usually they're devoured by their own magic in some kind of way, so I think that was that was his curse. I think my power overloaded his and well..I think that about sums it up. I think you can rest easy now, Al. He's gone."

Aladdin sighed, knowing in his mind it wasn't true, but he couldn't voice it.

"You don't sound too happy about it. Come on already, I know how goody two shoes you are, but that guy tried to kill you!"

"It's not that, Iago...I..."

"I know, Al. You've been through a lot in the past day or so." Genie said sadly. "I think Jasmine deserves to know the truth too."

"Oh, Jasmine...does she know we're here?"

"Probably not. We haven't been back there yet, and it's really, really late."

"How late?"

"According to my calculations..." Genie looked at a watch he magically summoned on his wrist. "About 3 hours past midnight, give about thirty minutes and twenty seconds."

"And I left when it was about sunset."

"If that was the case, we left a little bit after it was already dark. You've been out for about that long."

"I'm sorry guys."

"Stop apologizing already!" Iago said. "I've had enough stomach turning experiences for one day!"

"But..."

"He's right, Al...but not about the stomach thing. You have absolutely zip, zilch, and zada to apologize for. You were doing what you thought was right. Just wish you let us know about it so we could have been there for you, but at least it all worked out in the end."

"You know you're really easy going about this whole...." Iago started, but Genie used magic to tie Iago's beak in place. Aladdin shook his head, and was able to manage a small smile on his face.

"Thanks Genie. I think...I wanna go back to the palace, even though I know it's really late - I don't want Jasmine to stay up because of us."

"Sure thing. Can you stand?"

"I can try."

He slowly rose to his feet, Genie guiding him, over to Carpet, who glided over ready to transport. Abu and Iago followed, as Iago was finally able to get the clamp off his beak.

"Somethin' tells me if Jasmine's still up, she's gonna be pretty vexed to see all of us. Especially Al with the way he looks." Iago said, crossing his wings as Carpet flew into the clear night sky.

"Well, Iago, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as someone once said. And no one have any fury like Jasmine when she finds out who did what to Al." Genie remarked.

"You can say that again." Iago remarked, not anticipating the reception they'd receive at the palace.

***

"Father, I'm worried about all of them. They've been gone most of the evening and now it's morning."

"Now, now, dearest, I think they have everything under control. They may just be spending the night at Aladdin's old home." The Sultan tried to cheer Jasmine's spirits. She had been on the balcony now for about an hour, not having been to sleep at all. "You must get some rest; I'm sure they're all right."

"But I have such a bad feeling. And I'm not sure why they didn't tell me before they left. I saw Genie and the others leave so quickly."

"Well I....oh look, there they are on Carpet. And..oh...my." the Sultan's mouth dropped open as he saw Aladdin leaning against Genie in tattered silken garments. "Whatever happened to Aladdin?"

"Aladdin!" Jasmine ran to him as Carpet landed on the balcony, and he rose to his feet. He didn't have a chance to say anything as she went to embrace him.

"Jasmine...I'm so sorry..."

"What happened to you? You're wounded...and so pale, like you've seen a ghost." She ran her fingers through his hair gently.

"I...it's a long story..."

"Take it easy, Al. Jas, I think it better to let Al rest for the night. It really is a long story to tell, and I'm sure he'll have the time to tell you everything in the morning when he's a little better." Genie interrupted, but in a polite way.

"I'm with Genie. I'm tired, my feathers are molting, and I haven't slept a wink." Iago complained.

"But where were all of you all this time?"

"At Al's old place. Said he wanted to come back here." Genie replied.

"Well...I guess that's okay, but...don't scare me like that, Aladdin. And that goes for you four too!" She scolded Genie, Iago, Abu, and Carpet, placing her hands on her hips.

"Now, now Jasmine, don't yell at them. Though I do think it best to get Aladdin to bed soon. You look like you're about to fall over, my boy."

"Thank you, Sultan. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"No, no, not at all. I'm just happy you're back safe and sound with us. We'll settle all the details in the morning."

With that, all of them retreated into the palace for the evening.

It was the next day, when Aladdin came dressed in his second most formal attire that Jasmine, the Sultan, Iago and Abu were waiting for him.

"Morning, how are you feeling?" The Sultan said cheerfully.

"Much better, thanks. Still a little sore and woozy." Aladdin smiled weakly. It was mostly truth, but didn't translate over from sleeping. He wasn't sure how long he actually slept, considering he kept waking up thinking one of the shadow beasts were watching him as he slept.

"Ugh, I still can't believe I had to wake up at the crack of dawn after all that. Monkey, tell me you don't feel like you have a hangover?" Iago said, directing the question at Abu.

"Uh huh." Abu confirmed it, rubbing his weary eyes.

"I guess you want to know what happened to all of us yesterday." Aladdin took his seat at the table. "I don't know if it's the type of conversation for breakfast, though." He tried to say cheerfully, but Jasmine seemed cross.

He sighed. "Okay, I guess I'll tell you."

Aladdin took his time recounting the events of the past few days, taking care to leave out his visions of the shadow demons, both earlier in the day and in the late evening with Genie. By the time he was finished, Jasmine and the Sultan both had worried expressions crossing their face.

"Oh my word. What a terrible ordeal. No wonder you were so worked up when you returned." the Sultan frowned.

"Aladdin, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I couldn't, Jasmine. I didn't want you to worry."

"I worry more when you don't tell me things. It doesn't matter if it's a special occasion or just a regular day. If something's wrong, I want to know. Let me help - don't try to protect me." She held his hands firmly and looked into his eyes. "You have to promise me that you'll be more open with me from now on."

"Jasmine..." Aladdin felt himself wince, because in his heart lay the secret that none of them knew yet, and he wasn't at liberty to tell them.

"Please, Aladdin. I know you were scared, but when you are, so am I. We've been married a year - we shouldn't keep secrets from each other, especially ones like this. I don't want to lose you." She moved one of her hands to his cheek, and he held it firmly.

"Okay." He said, trying to mask the reluctance in his voice, but meeting her gaze calmly. "I promise."

"Who's up for some PANCAKES?!" Genie came out of the kitchen and noticed every one at the table looking a little sad (or disgusted as in Iago's case). "I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but lighten up - it's PANCAKES!"

"Genie, Aladdin just told us everything that happened over the past few days." Jasmine said.

"Oh...well...that isn't exactly cheerful breakfast conversation."

"Actually....I said that too..." Aladdin noted, but stopped midsentence. "Never mind. I think it's just better if we leave it at that."

"I agree. You're quite all right and I think that's what matters most. Now, let's see what kind of breakfast Genie has in store for us." Sultan noted, returning to his usual cheerful demeanor. It lightened the mood, but Aladdin noted that he couldn't truly share the Sultan's sentiments.

***

It was after breakfast when Aladdin returned to his room, and fell against his bed in exhaustion.

"I don't even know what I'm supposed to do. I made that promise to Jasmine, but she...everyone else..."

"I would hurry and choose my confidant, soon, street rat. You really don't have that much time, you know."

"Grenden?!" Aladdin sat up and looked around the room. Sure enough, Grenden's form was in the mirror upon the wall, his eyes glowing menacingly into Aladdin's.

"Of course you can hear my voice, and see my form. It's visible to you whenever I want."

"You're a monster."

"Oh, I don't think of myself that way. The true monsters you see are the ones that follow your fear, my boy. And I know well you fear me and them."

"Don't you dare try to tell me what I'm afraid or not afraid of. You don't know anything about me!"

"Do I now? I know enough that you're always willing to blindly put your life before others. And you live quite honestly, it seems. Heh, considering you're a former thief. Don't play me for a fool. I know your heart. And I know it well because I'm now in control of it. Of whether you live or die, that is. You have only another morning to live, Aladdin. The one after that, you won't survive. And keeping your secrets, I wonder if your friends will stand by you as strongly as you think they will. No, I'd play my cards right if I were you, but even with that, it won't stop me from having a little fun of my own." And with a resounding laugh, the image disappeared from the mirror.

"I have to find that anecdote...somehow...sooner than later." Aladdin said under his breath.


	9. Chapter 9: Questions

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

**Questions**

"I'm actually going into town today to bring back Jasmine's gift. I think I'm going to try to give it to her tonight, if I can." Aladdin said, running his fingers through his hair as Genie seemed to be using his magic on Aladdin to adjust his anniversary attire. It was a bold golden and traditional tunic that made Aladdin wonder if it was a bit too much for his title. It was more of a Sultan's attire than a Prince.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Al. Hmm...that won't do. The turban clashes, and the cape should be longer. We need to lower the V neckline and remove some of the accessories. Let's do it this way." Genie wiggled his fingers and seemed preoccupied with his work. He transformed the outfit accordingly, giving Aladdin a fancy fez and a longer cape. "OK! That's perfect!"

"Genie, it looks great!" Aladdin said, smiling, looking at the details of it from head to foot. "Didn't take as long as you thought it would, did it?"

"Not at all, so now this one will go in storage until the big day. And it took less time than Jasmine's gown, but it was all worth it."

"So what does Jasmine's...."

"Ah, ah, ah." Genie said, covering Aladdin's mouth and shaking a scolding finger in Aladdin's face. "No asking about the gown; bad luck. Just wait the day after tomorrow, and you'll see it for yourself." Aladdin raised an eyebrow and gently pushed Genie's hand away from him.

"The day after tomorrow..." Aladdin's face fell a little at the recognition, but he shook his head of the thought as it crossed his mind.

"Aww, getting a little bit of the pre-anniversary blues, Al? Don't worry. It's all going to work out."

"I hope so, Genie; I really hope so."

***

In the early afternoon, Aladdin spent some time in the royal library, flipping through as many books as he could for information on Lamrai. He knew he had to hurry to see Lamrai's location and how to get there. He didn't know whom he would bring as a confidant, if he chose someone. He couldn't choose between his friends, let alone Jasmine, but he knew it was likely that he couldn't go there alone. He shook the thought from his head just as soon as it had came, and as he continued to flip through one of the books before him.

"....wait a minute...is this it?"

He came across an old book that had an excerpted chapter of Lamrai details. Aladdin began to read it aloud.

" 'Lamrai, the city of illusion and shadows. Hidden from the mortal world and only visible to those of mystic power, granted access, or the dead. Its occupants, shadow manifestations, feed on abstract traces of fear. The greater the fear source, in any context, the larger the feed - until it removes the soul of the consumed. Souls consumed by the beasts are stored in energy crystals that can be harnessed for power by dark mystics. If the crystals are broken, the power cannot be harnessed, and the soul is set free.'"

Aladdin paused for a moment. "So that's why....Grenden's after not just one gem, but several. And since the gem Iago and I took back from him was cracked, that means the man in the hologram's soul was freed." He continued to read the description in the book.

"'Legend has it that if the crystal is broken before a body has completely settled in death, the soul can return to its body and be revived. However, if a soul is confined to a crystal - the likelihood of it returning to a living body is diminished. The majority of such souls are manifested into energy, and after a time, can be reused as continuous energy, but the human form of that spirit is lost after a time. In turn, the power can be harnessed to summon dark magic for mystic means...' That's...horrible. Being eternally enslaved for someone else's lust for power..." his brow narrowed, but he continued reading.

"'In the heart of Lamrai is a central source for where these crystals are made - a mystic machine known as the mother city's Throne. It is guarded by the strongest of the shadows that lurk the realm - and such shadows, including their smaller derivatives, are born and bred from the deluge of the machine's workings.' So, if that machine stops, then those shadows and the making of those crystals should stop. Well, at least I know what to do, but it doesn't explain where I could find the city. Ugh, I have to look somewhere else. And I'm running out of time and places to look." He started placing the books back when he heard Abu and Iago approaching down the hall.

Abu started looking around the many books Aladdin had pulled out, looking for pictures, and ended up being severely disappointed that it was just lines of text.

Aladdin laughed. "I don't think you'll find any books about bananas in this, Abu." He wasn't worried about Abu coming across anything he'd searched.

"Egh, I'm glad you have the time to be joyreading. We're tryin' to hide from Genie before he makes us do something else with your banquet stuff. I'm all prepared out." Iago said, doing a mock faint into Aladdin's hands.

"Hah, well if you two are that tired, why don't we head out into the city? There's...well, I have more than a few places I have to go today."

"Anywhere but here, I BEG you! If I hear anythin' else about balloons or confetti...." Iago grabbed Aladdin's collar with desperation, but Aladdin didn't give him a chance to finish.

"All right, okay. You guys can come with me to pick up Jasmine's gift from back at my place with Carpet. Then we can stop by the marketplace for a while, how does that sound?"

"Uh huh." Abu agreed.

***

It took no time for Aladdin and the others to pick up Jasmine's gift, still wrapped in a silk handkerchief, and fly about the city on Carpet that afternoon. Aladdin didn't want to stick around his usual hiding place for long since Grenden had been there on two occasions, but Aladdin had a feeling that Grenden might be watching while he was there. Knowing that made him simply grab Jasmine's gift, and head out into the city. Iago and Abu didn't complain; they were just glad to be out of the Palace, and Aladdin guessed, smiling at the thought, that they wanted a little recon after all of the decorations and planning. The Marketplace was crowded and very busy as usual as they flew through the city. It was a little while before Aladdin took to his feet, allowing Abu to perch on the shoulder that wasn't injured from the past two run-in's with Grenden. Abu seemed to know on his own terms, but when Iago tried to land on it as Aladdin browsed one of the stands, he winced.

"Not that shoulder, Iago. It still hurts."

Iago promptly left Aladdin's shoulder flew close to Aladdin's face. "Considering the last couple of nights you had, I'm surprised all you got out of it was a sore shoulder and some cuts and bruises. Me, I've got enough mental scarring for YEARS from having that guy chase after me in ONE night! Not to mention the fact his skin was hangin' off his bones when we saw his face!"

Abu shook his fist and seemed to screech in protest to Iago.

"I know I wasn't the only one Grenden was after! And I know Al probably got ten times the mental scars, not to mention the physical, but still, that guy freaked me out!" Iago suddenly realized he'd recalled Grenden's name and covered his mouth. "Oh, and thank you, Abu, for makin' me remember his name! Now I gotta start the whole process of mentally erasing him from my head again."

"Okay you two, stop fighting. It's not really worth fighting about..." Aladdin stopped mid-sentence when he caught a glimpse of something out the corner of his eye, something dark lurking in the shadows near an empty merchant stand. And he thought he could hear a low growl in his ears, something that made him stiffen and bristle slightly. He blinked his eyes twice and shook his head, and the momentary glance seemed to subside.

"Aladdin...." Abu said, moving his hand in front of Aladdin's eyes.

"See, monkey! Now you're freaking him out!" Iago noted pointedly.

Aladdin regained his senses and looked at Iago angrily. "I'm not freaked out, I'm fine. I just....thought I saw something behind me."

"See what I mean, the paranoia's already setting in." Iago noted, but Aladdin raised a brow, taking his fez from his head and putting it on Iago head, causing Iago to drop like a rock to the ground.

"Hey, I can't see! I'm getting claustrophobic up in here. Get this thing OFF me!"

"And you talk about me being paranoid. I wonder if we'll have to be the ones to commit you, Iago." Aladdin took his fez from Iago's head, while Abu held his sides pointing and laughing at the parrot, who folded his wings.

"Fine, already. But I'm tryin' to put the memory of that mystic out of my head for the rest of my life." Iago said, flying ahead of them.

Aladdin sighed, and followed Iago as they maneuvered through the streets of Agrabah, passing by the usual crowds.

It was when they came to Baram's stand that Iago seemed to gaze alluringly at the merchant's wares.

"Hey, hey Al! Look, Baram's got a whole bunch of new jewels on his stand." Iago noted. "Some of them could go for a pretty penny!"

"You guys wanna go look around there while I look around some of the other stands, then? But if you two try to steal anything...."

"Relax, Al, we'll be fine! Won't we, Abu?"

Abu leapt from Aladdin's shoulders and nodded in agreement, whistling while twirling his tail looking at Baram's jewels. Baram was busy helping a few other customers, so Aladdin didn't think to ask him anything, instead shaking his head.

"Fine. Just don't give Baram any trouble. Come on, Carpet, let's see if there's anything down this way."

Aladdin and Carpet flew around a few of the alleyways with stands after dropping off Iago and Abu with Baram. They went through several merchants but didn't see any deals for things they could buy, nor did they see anything that might help Genie with his preparations. Aladdin almost considered it a trip wasted, at leat until they both came across Phasir, who stood a distance away. Aladdin leapt from Carpet and approached his fortune-seeking friend, dressed in casual robes and with his usual walking cane and band over his eye.

"Ah, Aladdin, I had a feeling you were going to search for me."

"Hey, Phasir. I wasn't really searching, just out in the Marketplace running errands. I guess, while I'm here, I was wondering if you could answer one question for me."

"Oh? About the cursed land of Lamrai?"

Aladdin bristled at the acuteness of Phasir's guess; it was as if the seer were reading the one thing in his mind that kept him occupied...and a little worried. "How...how did you know?"

"My eye sees many things, my boy. Pity I cannot tell your future for the time, you have a cloud that hangs over it at present. It's very strange indeed, but it is not the first time I've encountered such a sight when reading one's future."

Aladdin sighed. "I'm not really here to see my future, Phasir. I'm fine with making it on my own destiny."

"Aye, that you always were. The path to the land you seek is in the underground of Agrabah, where the Akbut once dwelled before they went further underground. Those who walk through and within darkness are among the only ones who can see its doorways. I think you will have no trouble finding it."

"Is it really that close? Whoa." It was the bit of relief that Aladdin needed in all the uncertainty of the past few days, and he noted that the sooner he could get to the door to Lamrai, the sooner he'd have the anecdote. "Thanks, Phasir. I guess I'll be going now."

"Hold, a word of warning." Aladdin turned around just before he sought to whistle to summon Carpet to take him back to the main street. "The closer you get to the door of darkness, my son, the closer you see the beasts that it has to bear. You won't find the door, but the door will find you. What you may see before and beyond those doors are things that deceive the naked eyes, and lurk in the shadows of the mind and heart. I should know." Phasir grinned mischievously.

Aladdin laughed nervously. "Heh, well...thanks again, Phasir. But that doesn't make any sense to..." Aladdin had blinked for one moment before he realized Phasir was gone, and stopped mid-sentence to look around him, as did Carpet, who wasn't too far from Aladdin and seemed just as confused as Aladdin's expression lent.

"Huh? He's gone?! I still don't know how he does that." Carpet found his way closer to Aladdin's side, seeming to shrug.

"Well...let's go Carpet, I think we're done here. Let's get back to Abu and Iago. Then, I think it's time to go back to the Palace to give Jasmine this." Aladdin pulled the gift for Jasmine from beneath his cloak, studying the picture and jewel in his palms as they returned to the Marketplace to look for Iago and Abu.


	10. Chapter 10: Exchange

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

_The following chapter is left unchanged from its previous version, but the ones following this chapter (Chapter 10) are revised contents of the overall story. Updates will follow in my author notes._

**Exchange**

"Genie, I finally have something to give Aladdin." Jasmine said, smiling. Jasmine and Genie were in the company of the Sultan in the Royal Throne room that evening, finishing up the preparations there.

"You did? Well, slap me around and call me Nixon...uh...okay that's not the phrase I was going for....so what did you get?"

"Father was the one who gave me the idea."

"Well, my dearest, you actually deserve more credit than myself, since you took the time to make it. Your craftsmanship reminds me of your mother." The Sultan smiled softly.

"Ooh, ooh, I wanna see it. I wanna, I wanna, I wanna." Genie turned into his kid form and seemed to play ring-around-the rosie with the Sultan and princess.

"Be patient." She said with a smile, as she pulled out a book with a beautiful golden cover, with the words sewn in golden lettering "Our Whole New World", and a note personally addressed to Aladdin noting the wonderful year they spent together, with sewn mini-versions of Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, Iago, Abu, Carpet and her father inside the cover of the book. On the back cover were the lyrics to the same song they had sung to each other around the time she met him and Carpet for the first time.

"Wow! Jasmine, you made this?! How long did it take you?"

"Well, most of yesterday and today. I wanted to make Aladdin something that would remind him of us and all the friends and experiences we've had since we met. And it has many pages where we can put things for the years we spend together after. It's memory book."

"D'awww, that's so cute. I think Al will love it." Genie said.

"I hope so, Genie. I think I should give it to him soon since it's almost evening, what do you think? You don't think it's too early, do you?"

"Nah. If anything, I think now's a great time. Who needs rules as to when you can give presents, eh? If it were me, I'd make it a more frequent occasion. Presents, presents EVERYDAY!" He blew a few party horns and donned a hat with the words "Happy Anniversary" on it.

"Jasmine?" Jasmine heard Aladdin's voice from a distance away, and she tucked the book into a small silken blanket and tucked it under one arm, as she went into the lobby, where Aladdin, Iago and Abu had just arrived back from town.

"I have something to give you." They both said at the same time, holding the presents behind their backs, and both looking away embarrassed briefly at the recognition.

"Mushy stuff, I'm gonna go in the other room while this is...ack!" Iago tried to walk away, but Abu grabbed him by the tail so he couldn't saunter away, while looking admiringly at the blushing couple. "Aww." The monkey said, smiling. Iago decided that he probably couldn't leave the room without a futile excuse, so he decided to watch anyway. Genie and the Sultan watched from a distance, with smiles on their faces.

"Well, I guess, we can just give them to each other, then." Aladdin said with a sly grin, and they both exchanged gifts. Jasmine unwrapped her gift first, and gasped at the beautiful jewel with their picture at the fountain.

"Aladdin, this is beautiful! How did you...?"

"It was something I bought and decided to fix up for you. I didn't even think it would be as beautiful of a gem as it was, but I thought you'd like to add it as something you could put in a special place. I thought you'd like the picture too, though Genie helped with that."

"How can you not LOVE that picture - it was so CUTE!" Genie said cheerfully.

"I love it. Thank you, Aladdin." She leaned in to kiss him on the lips and he returned it in a smooth romantic gesture. He loved that she smelled of the finest flowers, sweet, but never too much.

"Open, open." Abu urged Aladdin, tugging on his pants leg.

"I'm already one step ahead of you there, Abu." He said winking. Lifting the silk blanket, and he saw the beautiful memory book.

"Jasmine....did you make this?!" he couldn't hide the surprise in his voice as he ran his hands over the cover, and the back of the book with the lyrics sewn on the back cover.

"Yes, I've known how to sew since I was a child. It took a little while and I was afraid I couldn't think of a gift to buy that you'd like, so...."

"It's amazing!" He looked on the inside cover of the book. "Look - that's..that's me! And you too. Haha, look at Genie, he looks like he's about to squash Carpet. There's the Sultan. And Abu. And Iago..."

"Hold on, let me see!" Iago flew to Aladdin's side, looking at the images carefully. "Hey now, that ain't so bad, not at all. But why does Genie look like he's about to step on my head?"

All of them started laughing.

Aladdin read the note from Jasmine in the first page of the memory book in silence.

"Aladdin, we've shared so many wonderful memories in the past several years, and even more amazing experiences in our first year married. I know you love to travel and to recall stories of your travels, so I made this memory book so that we can remember all the times that have past, as well as the ones to come. You've really given me a whole new world since we've met, and I hope that we can share this world together forever, remembering our friends, and remembering each other. Love, Jasmine."

Aladdin couldn't say anything as he looked into Jasmine's eyes and embraced her with a pained expression on his face.

"Aladdin....what's wrong?"

"It's...nothing....I....I love it, Jasmine. I wish....thank you." He said, giving her a small smile, but before Jasmine could say anything else, he walked out of the room. Jasmine was about to go after him, but Genie put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, that was kinda unexpected." Iago said, lifting a brow.

"I think Aladdin was quite taken with your gift, Jasmine, but I don't know why he seemed so sad..." the Sultan agreed.

"I don't know, Father. He seemed to happy about it at first, and then..."

"Nah, Al definitely loved it, Jasmine, but he's had such a chip on his shoulder the past few days, I wouldn't blame him for reacting that way. I'll go talk to him."

"You will, Genie?"

"Righty-O." Genie winked an eye as he turned into a cartoon cat and went marching off in the direction of Aladdin's room.

***

Aladdin placed the book with care on his bedside table and went out on the balcony to look into the darkening sky. He sighed as he folded his arms on the balcony rail. It was a moment before Genie appeared, in his usual form, above his head and floating upside down to stare Aladdin in the face.

"Hey, Al, buddy, what gives? One moment you were on Cloud 9 and the next you sunk like the Titanic. Maybe not that bad, but still..."

"It's nothing, Genie. I just...it was a beautiful gift. Jasmine took so much time to make it....the pictures of us she sewn...the message she wrote...and the lyrics to the our song..."

"I'm sensing a 'but' somewhere in that."

"NO! No, I...but what if Jasmine and I aren't together forever?" He turned to Genie with a pained expression.

"Hey...wait a minute, I know what this is about." Genie moved himself upright and floated to sit on the railing beside Aladdin. "You're worried that forever may not be for as long as you think - that something might happen to one of you."

"Something like that..." he admitted honestly, but didn't spare much words about it otherwise. He couldn't help shaking the feeling he was being watched, not to mention Jasmine's gift, as beautiful as it was, reminded him of what would happen if he didn't find the anecdote to the poison within him soon. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the railing, his head held down.

"Al, you have one of the most passionate relationships that would make the sands of the twenty seas envious. No one knows what the future holds, but there's no time like the present - you've gotta cherish what time you do have. And if I have anything to say about it, nothing's going to happen to my two biggest buddies in the entire cosmic universe anytime soon. Chin up, kid." Genie put one hand under Aladdin's chin, and Aladdin met his gaze reluctantly and smiled.

"Thanks, Genie. I hope Jasmine's not mad at me for walking out like that..."

"Nah, I think she got that you loved her gift." Genie winked. "I'll talk to her, but in the meantime, you get some sleep - you've done a lot today, and at least it wasn't as bad as the last few days have been. Tomorrow - we'll finish the last of the preparations and we'll be ready to PAR--TAY! You should be enjoying the days before your anniversary, not scrambling your brain so much, so get some sleep and kick back and relax! Don't let the bed bugs bite though...especially if they're piranhas."

Aladdin raised one brow, looking at Genie incredulously. "A piranha's not a bug, it's a fish."

"Really? I guess I've been calling the wrong agency then. Note to self: Bug people don't do fish problems. "

Aladdin laughed. "Looks like I'm not the only one who needs some rest, especially after you've been doing so much in the past few days. You should get some rest too."

Genie smiled. "Will do. Night kiddo."

***

It was a little while after Genie left that Aladdin went back into his room from the balcony - night had fallen completely by that time. He'd gazed at the memory book Jasmine had given him for quite some time while sitting on his bed, and it made him wonder what he would put inside it, but at the same time his mind kept coming back to the curse. It was only after some time when he shook his head of the thought, moving his hand across the sewn lines of the memory book that he heard the sound of low growls. He looked up to see Grenden's menacing figure in the mirror and three shadow beasts only a short distance away, their dark fur seemed to burn into nothingness. It startled him enough for him to take to his feet, first in an initial state of fear, but he met Grenden's gaze with a glare that matched the mystic's.

"What a touching scene, Aladdin. I take it you might choose the Genie is your confidant. Pity you choose him over your own wife, especially since you promised her you wouldn't keep any further secrets. And she made such an endearing book for you...if you want to keep track of the next day or so."

"Grenden....you saw that?!" Aladdin noted through his teeth, clenching his fists.

"I see everything. And I don't regret being invasive, it's my nature. The only thing I do regret is letting this lovey-dovey charade go on for as long as it has. Time to give you a glimpse into my world, street rat. The world of darkness and illusion that you'll soon join. And I'll take an immense amount of pleasure watching you lose your humanity." The beasts didn't seem to move as Grenden spoke, standing poised and ready to leap upon order.

"I know your plan. How dare you take the souls of the people you poison and use them for your own power."

"Of course I do. I'm surprised it took you so long to figure it out. But my plan goes beyond simply controlling souls - it's creating fear in the hearts of all, within the entire world. Fear breeds power." Grenden's shadow emerged from the mirror, like a billowy unfurling of black smoke, and cornered Aladdin, until he'd had his back to the wall. "What I love most about using my poisons are creating the terms upon which those poisoned obey. It's far too droll to simply poison someone and watch them die, quickly or slowly. No, mystic poison adds a bit of a touch - a slow torture that gives the poisoned party a false sense of hope - that they can get out if they agree to the terms within. But no one has ever escaped my terms alive, Aladdin. There was certainly one who tried, and came very close - but he lost his friends and life before he could. You should consider yourself fortunate - to only know the pain of what it's like to taste death. But I think it's time your friends knew of the secrets you keep, and if you can't choose a confidant, then I'll aid you in the process."

With dark mists emerging from his hands, Grenden aimed his magic at Aladdin, and tried to fire, but Aladdin was quick on his feet and rolled out of the way of the blast. Grenden snapped his fingers for the beasts to attack, but Aladdin was quicker to respond to them. He dodged one who charged, running into a wall and disappearing into a puff of dark mist. The other tried to leap at Aladdin from behind, but Aladdin turned in time and fell against the ground on purpose, able to use his feet to meet the beast's belly and thrust it over his head, crashing into the wall and disappearing just as quickly as the first beast. The third tried to bite at Aladdin's leg when Aladdin rose to his feet, but Aladdin was able to dodge it just as quickly, and the beast disappeared.

"How's that for a street rat, Grenden?" He said, confident, and meeting the angry, crimson eyes of the mystic, who seemed to growl beneath his own breath, no different from the shadow beasts Aladdin had just fended off.

"Oh, you want to be difficult, Aladdin? Okay, let's play it your way."

He aimed more dark blasts at Aladdin, who dodged as much as he could. It was only the last minute when Aladdin noticed one shadow beast that leapt at him from out of nowhere, and nearly bit his arm. But Aladdin pushed himself away and swung at the beast so that it disappeared into a puff of dark smoke.

The distraction was enough for Grenden to take aim and put a large blast of dark magic into Aladdin's heart. Aladdin's body was thrown back to the railing of the balcony outside, as he yelled in pain, but was able to grip the railing to keep himself from tumbling over.

"I think your friends might be hearing you now, street rat. Let's see if one of them can save you in time before you fall to your death."

"No....don't!" But it was too late as the blast hit Aladdin's heart again, and he tumbled backward from the balcony.


	11. Chapter 11: Discovery

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

_Updated 1-07-10: The content of this chapter has been edited since it was first uploaded to . Subsequent chapters will reflect these changes, so be advised to read this one again (if you have already done so) before moving forward. Hope you enjoy._

**Discovery**

Abu dozed in one of the palace rooms that evening, with Iago sleeping not far on a royal day bed with throw pillows. He'd had an active nightmare about something, and kept twitching at his feet while his tail dangled over the blue pillow on which he slept. Usually he'd sleep by Aladdin's head most of the time, but he had been helping Genie with some last minute arrangements along with Iago. Both of them had found their place in a room, where Genie had served them food and entertained them with a second showing of a movie..something about a princess kissing a frog who was cursed. Iago said if he'd been the prince, he would have ran from the voodoo specialist the moment he saw him. Abu liked that the Princess in the movie ran her own restaurant and it made him hungry.

Abu had a banana for a pillow, but the clear echo of something from outside startled him awake. He looked around fearfully for a moment, and started shaking Iago awake when he heard a yell cut through his senses. Iago awoke not far beside him.

"Hey, monkey, what's all the racket? I'm tryin' to sleep here." Iago said sleepily, but woke up with start when the yell snapped his senses awake. "Hold on, is that Al?!" Iago flew to the window of the room, overlooking the side of the Palace, towards the balcony to Aladdin's room. It was Iago who saw Aladdin just as he leaned against the balcony, his hands gripping it tightly.

Carpet, whom had been in a room about two doors down, stirred almost immediately after hearing Abu's screeching, flying to where Abu was rushing over to where Iago was perched by the window. Iago yelled as he saw Aladdin tumble from the balcony. Carpet looked where Iago pointed just in time to react, and sped as fast as he could towards Aladdin, catching him just before he hit the ground. Carpet nudged Aladdin head a few times on the back of the head before floating safely to the outside grounds. When Aladdin didn't stir, Carpet nudged him by the shoulders until he sat up, coughing briefly before looking upward at the balcony and down to where Carpet floated under him.

"Thanks Carpet - that was close."

Aladdin heard Grenden laughing. "You were very lucky, Aladdin, but I wonder how lucky you'll be the next time around. Especially when I use the power of your soul to allow my beasts to flourish and destroy your beautiful city. " Before Aladdin could say anything else, the mystic's voice faded away, just as quickly as it had come. Carpet flew up to the window where Abu and Iago were sitting. Abu leapt into Aladdin's arms in relief, gripping Aladdin's neck and seeming to shiver in the cold air that blew around them. Either that, or Aladdin figured the poor monkey had been scared out of his wits.

"I'm okay, Abu. Calm down, it's okay."

"You know, I don't normally ask these kinds of questions because they always get me in trouble, but what just happened?"

"As much as I'd like to tell you what just happened, Iago, I can't. I don't really understand it myself." Aladdin admitted honestly.

"Well, I'll make it simple for ya - I don't _wanna_ know. Just tell me that whatever or whoever tried to throw you off that balcony is gone and isn't gonna kill me _while I'm sleeping_."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. Especially since it's interested in me." He said sadly.

"Well, good! I'm glad that...I....eh..." Iago stopped midsentence when he digested the statement in full. "What the _heck does that mean_?!"

"Are you guys the only ones up right now?" Aladdin asked, ignoring Iago's comment, looking between Abu, Iago and Carpet.

"Abu was the one who woke me up, and then the rug here came in 'cause I think he heard Abu too, because we all heard you! I expect compensation for my beauty sleep!"

"Now I get what he was trying to do. He was setting me up this whole time." Aladdin said angrily.

Iago and Abu looked at Aladdin confused.

"I can't really explain it, but....Carpet, do you remember what Phasir mentioned about the entrance to Agrabah's underground? The one that opened up when the Akbut came into the city a long time ago?"

Carpet nodded with enthusiasm.

"I need you to take me there as fast as you can. I can't explain it all now, but there's something I have to do. And it can't wait."

"Hold on a minute! You're goin' underground, _alone_?! Not that I care or anything..." Iago seemed to quickly recant when Aladdin gave him a small smile, noting his concern. "There's no tellin' what's in that place now. No one's been down there in a long time."

"Well, as much as you're concerned, Iago - I can't ask either of you to come with me. It's late and it might be dangerous."

"Well, even if you asked _me_, I'd say no." Iago folded his wings and seemed to brush off the suggestion of him going anywhere at that hour. " At least take the monkey, so at least I can sleep a little better knowin' you're with somebody besides the rug."

"Me?!" Abu pointed to himself quizzically.

"Sure, Abu. You know you _laugh_ in the face of danger." Abu gave Iago a side glance out the corner of his eyes, as if he wanted to say something to the contrary.

"At least he isn't a stool pigeon like a certain bird I know." Aladdin said smartly.

"You're makin' fun of my family again, Al. That hurts." Iago said pointedly. "But I value my feathers any day than goin' off in some random cave, against some monster that likes to push its prey _off high cliffs_."

"But Iago...that doesn't make any sense for you to be afraid...because you have wings....? You can _fly_?"

Iago looked at his wings and gave Aladdin a look. "I'm not even sayin' anything to that..."

Aladdin shook his head and sighed. "Abu, do you really want to come with me? You don't have to, I'll just go and then come right back. But I need to know if what I'm looking for is down there, at least."

Abu sucked in a large breath of air, pushing his chest outward and flexed his muscles as if he were a bodybuilder or a hero, looking smartly at Aladdin as he held his breath and nodding as he continued to assume many flexed positions. But he found he couldn't hold it long, and had to let his breath out before his face turned blue.

Aladdin smiled. "Well, I guess that settles it." Abu leapt on Aladdin's lap as he sat on Carpet.

"Wait a minute, Al - what if Genie or The Sultan or Jasmine wake up and ask where you are?"

"Just tell them I'll be back as soon as I can. _Trust me_. Let's go, Carpet."

Carpet sped off into the light of the full moon.

***

"It should be somewhere down here, I know, but I'm not sure if it's been blocked or covered since the last time anyone came down here."

"Uh huh." Abu scanned the streets as they flew with Carpet looking for the entrance. They looked through just about every alleyway through the city, until they came across an opening at the end of one of the alleys.

"There it is! Now we just need to see how far it goes down. There should be a door somewhere underground."

"Door?" Abu asked, puzzled.

"Yeah. Phasir told me that the door would find me before I found it. I'm not sure if that's true - if it exists at all. Still, it's the only lead I have."

Carpet slipped through the entrance to the underground, which was a large drop into an underground cavern of rock solid walls and sand floors. Carpet slowed his speed to drifting, as they went through the dark caves. The way was lit with dim lanterns, which seemed to be burning for quite some time, meaning that people had at least been to the first part of the twisting route, but when the lanterns became fewer, Aladdin grabbed one of them from the walls and held it carefully in his hands.

"This should at least be able to get us through the cave to go in and out."

The thin path they rode around on Carpet suddenly opened up to a much bigger area, a cascade of large boulders and broken rocks that framed the pathways as they zig zagged through the unstable areas. One of the boulders fell at a distance away from them, and Abu was startled so much that he found a way to crawl under Aladdin's shirt at the neckline.

"It's okay, Abu, nothing's going to hurt you. Not as long as I'm around."

Abu poked his head out long enough to see something in the distance that caught his eye, and started screeching to Aladdin, pointing a finger in the direction of the strange object.

"Whoa, Carpet, slow down. I think Abu saw something over there, a little to the right." Carpet immediately adjusted his course and speed, avoiding a group of rocks below them and smoothly sailing through a thin crevasse of rocks. Aladdin ducked his head, carefully holding the lantern stable as they made their way through the path.

"Abu, where did you see it? Around here?" Aladdin oriented the lantern to the direction ahead of them. Abu nodded, and as Aladdin held the lantern ahead of them, he saw the edge of something. Something streaming in the glare of the light.

Mist. And the source of that mist was beyond a large, silver door, just on the end of where they entered.

"Abu, I think you just found the door I've been looking for. Let's check it out."

Aladdin, Abu and Carpet flew towards the silver door, with intricate etchings and engravings that were simply symbols. If they meant anything, none of them knew how to interpret them. Abu lifted his fez and scratched his head as he leapt from Carpet, trying pull at the seams of the door, but it wouldn't budge. Aladdin noticed that the door didn't have a handle or any other place to force it open.

"This doesn't make much sense. There should be some way to open it. Carpet, Abu, let's try to push it in to see if it will budge. Or try to find something in the wall that might be a secret opening."

Carpet and Abu obliged, the three of them attempting to search for ways to open the door. After some time, Abu sank down to the ground in exhaustion, and Aladdin sat beside him and Carpet at the foot of the door.

"Well, that didn't do much of anything. What's the point of this door, if it won't even let us in. Unless..."

Abu started screeching something, and Aladdin smiled because he knew what he meant.

"I know, you're right. If there aren't any other ways to open it's probably a back door. Which means the real door can't be too far away. Either that or we're missing something...."

Aladdin's voice trailed as Carpet suddenly started tugging at Aladdin's arm frantically.

"Carpet, what's wrong?"

Carpet started to point in the direction from which they came, and it was only when Aladdin heard a series of low growls that he knew exactly what awaited them.


	12. Chapter 12: Patience

_Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators_

_Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!_

**Patience**

Iago sat on the blue daybed pillow in one of the palace rooms, the same room that Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet had left behind some time before. Iago was annoyed in that he couldn't fall asleep, and he knew very well one thing - just because Aladdin had said they would go and be right back, didn't necessarily mean that they would. And since they weren't, that usually meant trouble.

"Not that I didn't warn 'em ahead of time! They wanna go off on some adventure, and get themselves in trouble? That's just fine with me! I'd rather stay here, livin' in luxury, and not have to worry about anything unexpected going on. Too much excitement isn't good for my long term health." Iago didn't realize he said the words aloud until he saw Genie appearing in the room, stretching his arms out. He was dressed in a nightcap and gown, holding a candle in his hand.

"A little excitement never hurt anyone, but man - do you have to be so loud? You woke me just when I counted sheep number 568. Well, not technically, it was more like 569, but it hadn't cleared the bar...."

Iago was startled by Genie's entrance, and grabbed Genie by the collar. "You tryin' to give me a heart attack?! Don't do that! It's bad enough you appear at the most inconvenient times!"

"Inconvenient times for what?" Genie picked up Iago by his tailfeathers.

"Uh...I don't know...can you take a rain check?" Iago realized he'd said too much, and that if he said anything else, he'd be in over his head. He knew what Aladdin had told him, but he would rather avoid the whole conversation all together, if he could help it.

"Iago...I can smell something fishy just as plain as the beak on your face." Genie turned into a giant talking killer whale, whose fins continued to hold Iago in place. "I know what you're hiding."

"And...what exactly would that be?" Iago asked, his voice lowering in guilt, which he hoped Genie wouldn't pick up.

"You're trying to throw me a surprise party." Genie grinned, as he transformed into his usual self, only donning a party hat and throwing streamers and confetti as he released Iago, who dropped like a rock to the floor. Iago shook some stray confetti from his feathers.

"You just gotta go and ruin the surprises, don't ya?" Iago said, his words dripping with sarcasm, as he slapped his forehead with a wing.

***

"Punch it, Carpet! They're coming!"

Aladdin grabbed Abu and leapt on Carpet just in time before the shadow beasts started charging toward the door in the darkness. They were lucky enough to startle the beasts with their sudden exit overhead, and some of them tried to claw them as they made their way out of the underground area where the door stood. Back door or not, Aladdin wondered if trying to open it must have been the reason why the beasts started to show. As he flew over the heads of the beasts, he realized that it wasn't just a few of them, there were more in the underground shadows, and he wondered how they came so quickly. Where? Why? It was only then that he realized Carpet was able to see them.

"Carpet, you can actually see them?!"

Carpet nodded frantically as he flew down the path. Abu's expression was one of confusion in their whole frantic escape. They slowed in speed when they came into the open area of the underground space, but Aladdin saw the space below them, and looked onward in an expression of amazement and horror. Some of them were wandering in packs, and a few of them were occupied in the shadows, careful to avoid the light in the area. Carpet slowed, keeping a high enough distance to avoid the beasts crawling the floor, and Aladdin's brow narrowed at the recognition of the growls and snapping fangs...seeming to be in just about every direction he looked upon the darker areas of the cave.

"There's....so many of them...but why?" Abu looked around the grounds, climbing from Aladdin's shoulder to by his side on Carpet. He looked downward. past Carpet's rim to the rocky ledges below, but shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess you can't see them, can you?"

"Uh-uh." Abu said, shaking his head.

"I don't know if it's because Carpet has magic, but between him and me, we're the only ones to see all of this. With all of these beasts, I wouldn't be surprised that he's planning something more than what he said he was."

"Who?" Abu asked.

Aladdin looked over at Abu and sighed. He didn't put much stock in fate, but if it gave him an opportunity to stop Grenden in whatever he was planning, he had his moment to play by the mystic's rules. Maybe even bend them a little. Grenden may have made his terms clear in the poisoned curse that was within him, but Aladdin knew that if there was anything his days on the street had taught him, there was always a way to outwit a rule, no matter how obscure it might be. An idea came into his mind then, and he wished in secret he'd been able to see the hole in Grenden's terms before that time. He had one more full day before the curse ended, and he was going to make it as much to his advantage as he could. And he knew that somewhere, Grenden might be watching to see what his next move was, so he knew that he had to risk getting the plan to work.

"Abu, there's something I want you to do."


	13. Chapter 13: Confidant

**Confidant**

"Abu, you're the only one that can do this."

"Uh huh?" Abu looked at Aladdin, confused as he adjusted his fez atop his head. He saw Aladdin lift one of the unlit torches from its perch, and light it using the contained lantern that he held in his hands. It started to burn slowly, but brilliantly. Aladdin noted that the move caused some of the beasts to wince and move away from the glare of the light, though they remained some distance below them in the belly of the cave.

"We'll drop you off by that stretch of the cave. There should be a lot of unlit lanterns down that way, if I'm guessing right. Light as many of them as you can, and we'll follow you. The beasts won't go near light, so we have to have it to make our way down. They won't hurt you, especially since you can't see them. But if Carpet or me get too close..."

Abu realized what Aladdin hinted at. While he couldn't see the beasts Aladdin spoke of, nor really understand the situation, he decided he'd do what he could. Even if it made the fur of his tail curl.

Abu grabbed the torch and they flew, as Aladdin noted, to the lip of one of the curved paths of the cave. Abu ran as fast as he could through the loops of the cave, lighting each and every torch and lantern he could along the path. It took him leaping on some rocks and crates to do so, but he made himself timely. Aladdin saw the beasts retreat from the lit areas.

"That's it, Abu! Keep going." Aladdin grabbed a stray torch of his own, and lit it on the lantern, even while noting that the burning oil wouldn't keep it lit for long, and that he'd likely have to find another lantern somewhere on the way down.

"Come on, Carpet - it looks like it's working; we can help him out once some of the beasts start clearing. I just hope they don't try to take too many swings if we get too close."

Carpet hesitated, which Aladdin interpreted as a bit of fear, but Carpet lurched forward in determination, flying towards the lit areas as places of safety, while the beasts behind them in the darkness seemed to stir, and started to chase after them in what shadows they could measure.

While Aladdin started lighting the torches, he took care to look around for places where other doors might be located throughout the cave. They saw a few doors along the way, but like the other door, they were only backdoors from Lamrai, and not toward.

"Phasir said the door would find me, but I don't understand what he meant by that. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but..." Aladdin's voice trailed off as he looked behind him, and saw one of the beasts's jaws about to clamp down on Carpet.

"Carpet, watch out! _Whoa_!"

But Aladdin's warning came too late ast the beast's jaws clamped on Carpet's end, barely missing Aladdin's feet, and Carpet's suddenly stopped in place, throwing Aladdin, his torch, and the lantern forward. Aladdin landed on his face and arms a distance away, safe in the light of the tunnel, but he looked back as Carpet fought against the jaws of the beast. Aladdin's lantern and torch had snuffed out in the momentum forward, but Aladdin scrambled to his feet, grabbing the torch stub and lighting it again, this time running to where the beast struggled to drag Carpet closer to the darkness. He was putting up quite a fight, but as his fabric started to tear, Carpet couldn't fight as much as his momentum.

"Hold on!" Aladdin waved the light directly into the eyes of the beast, and it released Carpet just as quickly as it had held on.

Carpet flew out of the way, and Aladdin took a few steps back into the light, as Carpet flew to the ground.

"Are you okay?" But even as Aladdin asked, he saw Carpet had a huge rip in the edge of his frame, indicative of bite and claw marks.

Aladdin shook his head.

"I promise I won't let anything like that happen to you again, as long as we're here. Let's keep going, I can move on foot from here since Abu's ahead of us. Come on."

They turned each corner of the cave until they came to where Abu pointed and screeched ahead of them. Sure enough, it was a space where a dark mist seemed to hover in midair, and Aladdin readied his torch to thrust into whatever may have come from that mist...Except that it seemed to simmer as they approached. It dissipated gradually to reveal a large silver door, similar to the ones they had seen before, but this time it had two large knobs for handles.

"This is it....this is the real door to Lamrai."

Abu seemed to be relieved that the door didn't turn out to be something else, and Carpet seemed to relax, hovering slightly behind Aladdin, but started waving frantically in sudden movements. Out the corner of his eye, Aladdin noticed, and turn around to see the last figure he wanted to see at that point in time. Abu took notice as well, and screeched frantically in recognition of the figure.

"Well done, Aladdin. Seems your brains are worth as much as your brawn."

***

"Geez, go to sleep already!" Iago groaned as he put a pillow over his head, while Genie seemed to be watching a monster movie on something Genie referred to as a TV. He munched on popcorn with one hand and sipped coffee from another.

"I can't, you're the one who woke me up, remember? Besides, Al and Jas's banquet is the day after tomorrow. I'm wired now."

"You're only wired because you're drinking _COFFEE_!" Iago said. "That's the drink you _don't_ want to use to go to sleep!"

"Really? Wait a sec, you're right. I should be drinking a warm glass of milk. That always helps insomnia. I wonder if it's too late to make the switcheroo..."

"You're screwed." Iago said from underneath the pillow.

"Genie! Genie, are you awake?!" A call from the hall stirred both Genie and Iago to attention, and they saw Jasmine, in a beautiful white nightgown and hair pulled back by white ribbons, as she entered the doors.

"Jasmine! You can't sleep either? Welcome to the night party, I think you can find a place with Iago and me. Look, we're watching a monster movie marathon."

"You're the only one watching; I'm tryin' to sleep and you're keeping me awake!"

"I guess that means my vengeance is complete." Genie said smartly, looking over toward Iago as he lifted the pillow from his head to look at Genie angrily.

"You mean to tell me you were tryin' to get revenge ON ME?!" Iago complained. "Why I outta...."

When Iago looked at Genie, he realized that the big blue friendly floater wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, Genie seemed to take notice that something was bothering Jasmine, and that she was out of breath. "Jasmine, what's wrong? You look like someone put porcupine quills in your pillows. Though I think that would have been worse for your hair..."

"Genie, I just woke up from the most horrible dream. I thought something had happened to Aladdin, and I went to check on him...and he was gone. His bed hasn't even been slept in. Abu and Carpet are missing too!"

Genie's brows rose in surprise. "Are you serious? I thought they went to sleep a long time ago. Especially Al, I think he turned in even sooner than Abu or Iago did. Even the Rug was snoozing when I went to sleep. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Abu or Carpet since Iago woke me up."

Iago had taken the opportunity to hide back under his pillow, and both Genie and Jasmine had noticed his gesture.

"Iago, you know something don't you?" Jasmine said, lifting the pillow, and crossing her arms across her chest.

As Iago looked into both Genie's confused face and Jasmine's angry one, he sighed.

"Why does everyone always assume that I'm the one_ that knows anything_?!"

***

Grenden approached Aladdin calm and poised, his eyes burning red under his cloak, and his hands and feet donned with gloves and boots. Aladdin took a few steps back, preparing himself to strike Grenden if he moved to attack, but the mystic seemed to chuckle.

"I'm impressed you were able to ward off that many of the beasts, Aladdin, though you won't be so fortunate in the land of Lamrai. You see, in the human world, they are opposed to such things as light. But with your spirit, and my power, I can summon the beasts to have immunity to such an idle thing."

"Well, you won't have that chance."

"Is that so? I imagine your monkey and your magic carpet would like to hear your reasons. Unless of course you're planning to make Abu your confidant. Of course you can't make the carpet your confidant, but I figure you're smarter than than to assume such a ludicrous thing."

"Well, it's not like Carpet can tell anyone - he can't talk. I guess that means he isn't one bound to the rules of the curse, since it was predetermined?" Aladdin said slyly.

"He..." Grenden paused, realizing that Aladdin was correct. "Heh, you spotted a hole in my plan before I did. Very well, I would think it a shame if you died on the occurrence that magic rug knew the terms of your contract with me. Makes the game less amusing."

Abu had crawled up to Aladdin's shoulder by this time, finding a spot behind Aladdin's neck to duck behind as he tried to avoid Grenden's eerie gaze. Aladdin reached up to pet Abu reassuringly.

"Fine, I'm choosing Abu as my confidant, then. What do I have to do to make it official?"

"What?" Grenden's eyes seemed to narrow, and he seemed to respond in a mix of shock and anger. "You would make a monkey your confidant? You could have chosen anyone - the princess, your Genie, anyone of more significance than a mere monkey."

Abu's eyebrow rose and he summoned the momentary gumption to shake his fist at Grenden, screeching in protest, but then remembered whom he was addressing and retreated behind Aladdin's neck.

"Abu's my friend, and he's been with me a long time. I'd trust him just as much as I would anyone close to me."

"Uh huh." Abu seemed to agree.

"You make this too easy, street rat. You don't even flinch and you name a monkey as your confidant. Looks like I'm going to have to strike more fear in your heart. Very well. I suppose your plan involves coming to my lair by the morning. I don't think your parrot's having such a welcoming committee at the moment."

"What have you done to Iago?!" Aladdin responded angrily.

"Oh, it's not what I've done. I don't think your Genie or Princess are too happy about you leaving the nest egg unexpectedly. I would deal with them before they start coming out to look for you. After all this is the second or third night you've been out past curfew, haven't you? And you haven't had a good night's sleep in a while. Come back tomorrow, when you can face me at your best. I'll be waiting for you in my lair. That is, if you still have your friends to support you as I plan to conquer your city and world with darkness, using your soul to do it!"

Without hesitation, Grenden disappeared in a mass of dark mist, leaving Abu and Aladdin coughing.

"I have to get back to the Palace before they come looking for me. Carpet, you think you can still fly us there?" Aladdin said, recovering his voice after the mist cleared.

Carpet nodded enthusiastically.

"Aladdin..." Abu said worriedly, and Aladdin met his gaze sadly.

"I'm just sorry you two are involved in this now. I'll tell you guys everything on the way back. Let's move!"

***

"_OKAY_! I'll tell you already. Al went out with the monkey and rug a little while ago, said he was coming right back. How was I supposed to know it'd take him this long?!"

"Why would you hide it, Iago?!" Jasmine said angrily.

"Because I thought he'd be back by now! I didn't think it was a problem. He said he had to go somewhere to check somethin' out!"

"Check what out?" Genie said, lifting Iago by his feathers.

"I don't know, I _swear_! He didn't tell me, and I told him I didn't wanna know, especially since somethin' nearly sent him off his balcony and Carpet barely caught....!" Iago covered his beak with his wings, realizing he said too much. Jasmine and Genie looked at each other in a combined sense of surprise.

"Okay, calm down all. Instead of pointing fingers at Iago, we need to find out where Al went, and what it was he went to look for. " Genie noted. "Did he say anything to you about where he was going? Answer honestly now, Iago, I can smell you lying from a mile away. And it's stinky." Genie transformed into a skunk, but his expression was angry.

"I think he said he went....wait....LOOK, there he is! Outside!" Iago noticed the familiar underbelly of Carpet, as it oriented toward Aladdin's room and balcony.

As the three of them left the room to meet with Aladdin, Iago felt a sickening feeling in his stomach that he wasn't going to hear the last of this conversation.


	14. Chapter 14: Illusions

**Illusions**

Aladdin landed with Carpet and Abu in his room from the balcony. He stood from Carpet and looked around cautiously, wondering if Grenden had returned here since they met at the door to Lamrai, but nothing seemed out of place. Abu scrambled up to Aladdin's bed and collapsed onto a pillow, while Aladdin turned his attention to Carpet's torn frame.

"I think we can get Genie to fix you up like new, Carpet. Though I'm not sure how long it might take. Are you sure you're okay?"

Carpet nodded, flying around normally.

"We have to think of a way to stop Grenden and save Agrabah. I'm not sure what we'll find in Lamrai, but we have to leave either by the morning or afternoon. The shadows wont be at the entrance because of some of the openings to the city will be lit with sunlight, but we still have to be careful in the darker parts of the way going back. The only thing I know to do is find his Throne and destroy it. It's the source of what makes the soul crystals, and it might be the source of Grenden's power. And if I can destroy that, maybe I can find the anecdote to the poison he has me under."

Abu screeched worriedly.

"Don't worry, Abu. Grenden won't use my soul for anything, not if I can help it. We have to tell Genie and the others to prepare in case something happens to the city. And there's no telling what that might be..." Aladdin's voice trailed off, but just as it did, another one replaced his in the room, loud and only belonging to one bird Aladdin knew.

"About time you three decided to show up. I'm up to my feathers here!" Iago came flying into the room. "Let's just say the Princess and the Genie are NOT happy. And what happened to _Carpet_?!" Iago took notice of Carpet, who waved non-chalantly, then hung his head at Iago's remark.

Iago met Aladdin's gaze, and suddenly noted the color of Aladdin's eyes. His expression went from annoyance to fear. "Al! Your eyes....they look weird!"

"Weird how?"

"Look in the mirror and see for yourself! It's the whole monster eyes thing all over again!"

Aladdin took a glance in his mirror and saw his eyes were much lighter than they were before, almost like they could have been the same as the young prince who warned him in the hologram of the gem before he knew of the whole curse, and he realized the implications for it - it had to be an effect of the poison. It was affecting him in the same way as the young prince that had warned him.

"They weren't like this before, were they? Carpet? Abu?"

Abu and Carpet took notice and shook both of their heads, and Aladdin let out a large breath of air.

"Look, what did Genie say about the whole thing - you were exposed to some kind of magic or whatever? Maybe it just goes away on its own?" Iago suggested.

"No, that's not it." Aladdin said, barely under his breath and closing his eyes. "I think it's getting worse."

***

"Al, you got a lot of explainin' to do." Genie was the first one to show up in Aladdin's room, speaking in an imitational dialect whose humor seemed to be lost in the room, as Aladdin sat on the edge of his made bed, his head lowered while his fists were clenched. Iago stood beside Abu as they looked up at him, while Carpet seemed to be patting his back.

"Whoa, Rug-man, what happened to you? Talk about a rough night, someone snagged your ends....with claws...or are those teeth marks? Eww...." Genie said, placing an index finger and thumb under his chin. When Aladdin didn't say anything, Genie frowned and went to face Aladdin.

"Uh, Genie, maybe you haven't noticed, but I don't think Al's feelin' all that hot. Not to mention the rug's half _gone_!" Iago said.

"Nope, got that part of it. But what part of the 25th letter of the English Alphabet do I have to quote?"

"There's only one letter!" Iago said.

"That would be my point." Genie said smartly, but his tone turned serious when Aladdin didn't seem to respond at all. "Come on, Al, look at me."

"If I look at you, Genie, will you not freak out?" Aladdin said, his eyes remaining closed.

"Uh, sure...but why exactly would I freak out again?"

Aladdin slowly opened his eyes, and Genie saw that both the iris and the pupils of Aladdin's eyes were much lighter than usual. And it made Genie immediately break his promise as he let out, not so much a fearful yell, but one of the unexpected kind. Genie's eyes bulged out and he jumped back so much that he slammed into the opposite wall. Aladdin winced at the sound, but when he opened his eyes again, he raised a brow.

"Okay...so I wasn't quite expecting that." Genie raised one finger in his defense. Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet helped pull Genie out of the hole in the wall, and Genie used his magic to fix it up like new.

"Neither were we! It just happened since Al got back!" Iago said.

"I feel like someone just hit me on the back of the head." Aladdin noted. "Other than that, and being tired, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine, kid. It's not just your eyes. Iago said something about you falling off the balcony..."

When Aladdin gave Iago a look. Iago shook his wings in negation. "I swear it slipped! They made me tell!"

"Carpet caught me in time just before I hit the ground, Genie. Abu and Iago saw me fall from their window. I'm _fine_."

Genie looked at Aladdin incredulously. "I thought Iago was bad at lying, but you take the cake."

"I'm not lying!"

"But you're not telling the whole truth, and nothing but the truth either. It's not like I can put you under a spotlight and grill you for doing something wrong, but...I can't help you, kid, if you keep dodging it." Genie seemed to tease Aladdin, but he frowned.

"It's...just been a long night. I..." Aladdin felt his breaths become more constricted, and the same kind of pain from the blast that Grenden had hit him with earlier that evening seemed to shake his senses. Suddenly he felt that he wasn't standing in the same place, and he blinked his eyes, realizing the room had gone empty.

"What the....? Genie? Carpet? Iago? Abu? Where did you guys go?!"

Aladdin looked around, walking in the empty space of his room. Not only were his friends gone, but so was the memory book that was on his bed. The room was surrounded in a hazy clear maze, like a mirage in the hot desert sun. Aladdin walked around the room cautiously.

"What the heck just happened?" Aladdin asked, perplexed.

***

Genie caught Aladdin by the shoulders as Aladdin had closed his eyes, and not a moment too soon as Jasmine and the Sultan had entered the room.

"Genie, what happened?" Jasmine said worriedly.

"Al was talking to me and suddenly zoned out. Not exactly uncommon for someone who hasn't had much sleep, but still...that wasn't a good reaction." Genie paused.

Aladdin started stirring again slowly, taking a deep breath as if he'd been underwater for too long, then coughing and clutching his heart.

"Hey, easy buddy. You okay? I might have asked you too much in one night."

"No, Genie. I'm just...really tired." Aladdin opened his eyes, but realized something was wrong as soon as he opened them. He noticed something in front of him approaching from behind the pillars near the palace window. Seven dark beasts with blood drenched claws readied to leap upon him. Their growls were low, and their fangs bared prominently. He found himself carefully, instinctively backing away, until he felt claws that had gripped his shoulders before. It was then he saw a menacing beast, one he'd seen before - leering over him with claws ready to strike, and its powerful jaws close to his neck.

"No!" He jumped to his feet and readied himself to run, but he felt something grab at his arm, and he winced in pain. "Let go of me!" The grip that held him back tightened, but he was able to push against it and wrench himself free, tearing his collar as he reached the end of the room, nearest the doorway.

"Aladdin! Wait!"

"Jasmine...what...?!" Hearing Jasmine's voice threw him off for a moment, and he felt himself back against a wall as the leader among the beasts seemed to laugh at him, accompanied by his entourage. The creature leapt upon him, striking a blow against his neck and ribs and pinning him against the wall, so that he couldn't move. Aladdin yelled, and struggled against it, but he couldn't budge under the strength of the creature pressing him by the stomach to the wall. It raised one of its claws directly over him, readying itself to claw at his face.

"Snap out of it already, Al! What's wrong with you?!" Aladdin heard Iago's voice, but didn't stop long enough to wonder from where it came as he evaded the beast and ran from the room as the shadow beasts howled and pursued him at full speed.

_***_

"Genie, is he havin' one of those nightmare's again?" Iago said as he flew alongside Genie. All of them had taken off after Aladdin, who had awoken with such a start, and surprised them all as he started to run. Jasmine had tried to grab his arm, but he'd been able to break her grasp. He seemed to struggle against something, slamming against the wall and then taking off at a blazing speed down the hall. It came to a point where they lost the path Aladdin took.

"Yours is as good of a guess as mine." Genie said.

"Wait, what nightmares?" Jasmine said, running not far behind them with Abu on her shoulder.

"I guess Al didn't tell you about that, huh?" Genie said sadly. "Al had something of a waking nightmare before, something like this. You know after he'd been attacked by Grenden and the beasts that chased him through the city? He thought I was one of them and tried to run away, but he was able to snap out of it. This time, not so much."

"Iago, you knew about it?" Jasmine glared at him.

"Yeah...but Al didn't bring it up, so I figured I'd keep my beak shut. What? I always get in trouble for saying stuff, now you're gonna be mad at me for not sayin' _anything_?! Stop blaming me!"

Genie shook his head at Iago's comment and oriented his gaze to the Sultan. "Sultan, I think it's a good idea if you tell your guards to start searching the palace for Al before something bad happens - to him mostly. Just tell them if he's sleeping...be careful about trying to wake him up."

"I-Indeed, I will. Though I'm afraid I don't know much about what's going on...."

Razoul suddenly came up the path where all of them were running, with a group of his men.

"Sultan, I just saw the Prince run past me. What happened? Is anyone hurt?"

"No, but if we don't stop Al, he could get himself hurt - he's sleepwalking....er...make that sleep-running." Genie noted.

"Hurry Razoul, you have to find him." Jasmine exclaimed.

Razoul noted the urgency in her voice, and that made him stand to attention.

"Right away, Princess. You heard her, men, find him, quickly!"


	15. Chapter 15: Bravery

**Bravery**

Aladdin found himself running as fast as he could from the shadows that were chasing him. He ducked into a corner of the Palace halls, while the beasts seemed to run past him.

As he caught his breath, he mentally traced his steps, trying to make sense of what had happened. He remembered hearing Genie, Jasmine's and Iago's voices, but he couldn't see them beyond the view of the beasts that threw themselves upon him.

"Something's definitely off. They shouldn't be able to run through the palace like this. It's well lit here, which means..."

"You're quite the thinker, Aladdin."

Aladdin heard Grenden's voice in his mind but didn't respond to him directly at first.

"My beasts are getting stronger. They're starting to awaken and emerge into your world from mine. Surely you noticed that your Carpet could see them, and it's only a matter of time before the others will, as well as the residents of your city."

"I don't believe you."

"Oh? You have a stronger soul than you think; I can already harness the power that my curse is taking from you. Your reality is starting to merge with the realm of shadows, which mean you see both friends and foes as my perfect pets. Will you attack them now, knowing that you could be attacking a friend instead?"

"Wait a minute..." Aladdin reminded himself of the time when he awoke in his usual hiding place after Grenden had sent his beasts to attack him. He realized that when Genie had shifted between an image of a beast and himself, he saw a mix of shadow and reality even then. "That means that I could have...."

"Exactly, the beasts you pushed away were your friends _and_ my minions in one room - merged in shadow. How is it that you will tell friend from foe now? Will you wait to see which ones attack you? I wouldn't advise that. Besides, I think you have evidence of what could happen if you idle." Aladdin could feel the claw marks on his neck from where the beast attacked him earlier, as the beast had slammed him against the wall. "The way you are now, they can hurt you in the realm of darkness, unlike before. You're actually the furthest along than any other under my terms have survived. That is, if you survive the night." Grenden's voice faded, and Aladdin closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath as he started to make his path away from the shadows he saw.

He found himself in one of the palace rooms, where he sank to his knees in exhaustion.

"Beasts or no beasts...there's only so much of this someone can take before they get tired of it. Literally and figuratively." He looked around the room to see if he saw any of the shadows moving but realized that he was finally alone. But instead of relief, Aladdin felt himself bristle with frustration. "Well, I'm not running away. I can't fight all of them, and I might be getting closer to the shadow realm, but I can still fight."

Aladdin closed his eyes and sighed, but found a smile crossing his face at an idea that crossed his mind.

***

"Aladdin!" Jasmine called. "Oh, where are you? This isn't like you at all."

"Don't worry, Jasmine, we'll find him." Genie reassured. "He should be somewhere around here since the guards downstairs haven't seen him."

"Genie, what if Aladdin isn't sleepwalking? What if something's really trying to hurt him, but we can't see it?"

"I really don't know." Genie mused. "You probably didn't see it when he ran by, but his eyes were really off-color, which I think's caused by exposure too much magic. But even that doesn't cause someone to have nightmares as bad as Al's. It shouldn't even hurt. I mean, you've seen me zap Iago with my magic hundreds of times and he's as squeaky clean as any parrot could be! In Al's case, he's getting worse."

"Let's hurry and find him before the guards do. Knowing Razoul, he might take extreme measures." Jasmine said, checking the next few doors down the Palace hall.

"I always said you should really demote that guy." Genie said with a cross expression, and turning a shade of burning red.

***

"Oh, I do hope they find Aladdin well in all of this." Sultan said as he flew with Abu and Iago on Carpet down the halls of the Palace.

"He's probably snoozing somewhere cozy by now, and we're all up tryin' to find him!" Iago said, with an annoyed expression across his face.

"I have my doubts about that, Iago. Aladdin may have been sleepwalking, but he seemed very aware of something in that room, otherwise, he would have run straight in the doorframe as he left."

Iago thought about it. "Now that you mention it...he's doing a stand-up job of running from us. Then again, I always thought Al had weird habits. Who knows what he does in his spare time, let alone sleeping!"

Abu started screeching when he saw a shadow of something dart across the hall, and pointed ahead. Carpet obliged, flying in the direction that Abu pointed.

When they turned the corner, Abu and Carpet were quick to see exactly what it was, and they bristled at the sight of a grinning shadow beast staring them down.

***

Jasmine opened one of the Palace rooms, with Genie behind her, wearing a hard hat with a light and dressed in a military outfit.

"Genie, why are you dressed like that?" She shielded her eyes when Genie tilted his head towards her direction, the light briefly blinding her.

"Search and rescue party! We're leaving no inch of this place unturned. Though I have to say, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I'm not playing hide and seek with Al any time soon."

When they finished searching the room, Jasmine closed the door, just in time to hear Abu's bloodcurdling screech down the hall.

"That...sounded very bad." Genie said. "I think Abu and the others are that way." Genie pointed as he and Jasmine hurried as fast as they could.

When they arrived down the hall, they found Abu and Carpet against the wall, while Sultan and Iago looked confused.

"Father, what's going on?" Jasmine asked, rushing to his side.

"I-I'm afraid I don't know, dearest. Abu and Carpet suddenly took a fright to something, but I don't know what they're so afraid of."

"I'm starting to think whatever Al had, it caught on to those two, too! Don't give it to me!" Iago said, while perched on the Sultan's shoulder.

"Carpet! This way! Just fly over them!" Aladdin's voice called from down the hall. He waved to Carpet and Abu, who seemed to spot him in relief. Carpet picked up Abu using his front knobs, placed the monkey on his back before flying at full speed in Aladdin's direction.

"Al!" Genie called, but Aladdin had already started running off in the opposite direction.

"Where does he think he's going?!" Iago asked.

"Don't know, but we're following them, full speed ahead. All aboard!" Genie transformed into a miniature train, allowing Jasmine, Iago, and The Sultan to board as they raced after Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet.

***

Aladdin allowed himself to leap just as Carpet flew under him, landing safely as they sped through the halls of the Palace.

"Are Genie and the others behind us? I heard their voices."

"Uh huh." Abu gave a thumbs up to Aladdin.

"After all that, I still can't tell the difference between them or the real shadows." Aladdin said sadly. "But I have a plan. We need to get to the roof of the Palace first. Take us there as fast as you can, Carpet. There are a lot of other beasts on the roof, and that's the only way I know how to tell between them and the guard. Then we'll go with the next move. They're after me, so I'm sure the shadows will follow us."

They flew into one of the Palace rooms and out the window, heading toward the roof. Abu's jaw dropped when he saw the number of beasts waiting upon the roof, emerging only in the darker areas where the light of the moon didn't touch. But Aladdin told Carpet to hold steady as they surveyed the roof, suspended in mid-air.

"I knew it. They still have a weakness for any kind of light, including moonlight. And they can't fly either. Let's hope they don't start anytime soon."

Abu screeched as he started counting the shadows he saw on the roof, but Aladdin stopped him mid-count.

"Abu, you can see them now?!"

"Uh huh."

"I'm wondering if it's because I named you as my confidant or if it's because Grenden was right about the shadows starting to come into Agrabah...still, I hope this plan works. And I need Genie to do it...if I can figure out where he is."

"Aladdin!"

"I hear Jasmine, but I don't see her down there." Aladdin said as he scanned the beasts upon the roof.

"There! There!" Abu pointed, and while Aladdin looked in the direction, and while Aladdin couldn't see her, he called to her.

"Jasmine, where's Genie?!"

"He's standing right beside me! What's going on? Why aren't you coming down from there?!"

"I'll explain later, but Genie, if you can hear me, can you use your magic to light up the roof of the Palace? Put as many lights around as you can!"

Genie looked at Jasmine in confusion, but shrugged his shoulders. "I can do that with no problem!" Genie started to put many floodlights around the Palace roof, shining them out towards the city.

"No Genie, have them facing _on_ the roof, _trust me_!" Aladdin shouted.

"Oh, I get it now! Hang on Jas, Sultan and Iago, this place will get a little bright!" He summoned sunglasses on their eyes and turned all the spotlights upon the roof. The beasts started disappearing in masses of mist and smoke, and it wasn't just Aladdin's eyes that saw the effect. Genie, Jasmine, Iago and the Sultan started to see, and cough, with the appearance of the mist that seemed to come out of thin air.

"Okay, it's getting a little smoky all of a sudden. Time for some wind to blow this bad stuff away." Genie transformed himself into a giant fan, and all the mist started to clear almost immediately. He also made the spotlights disappear as soon as the smoke cleared.

"It worked; I don't believe it." Aladdin looked around the area and didn't see a single beast in sight, except for a few he believed were the product of the curse he was under, but he realized he needed to face the illusion head on, and take a risk in doing so. "I think we can land now, Carpet. Just...be careful, okay?"

Carpet nodded as he flew over to where Genie, Jasmine, Iago and the Sultan stood upon the roof.

***

"That was a lot of smoke." Iago observed, coughing in spurts. "Genie, next time you have a lighting party, cut down on the special effects. _Especially_ the smoke stage!"

"But that wasn't me. It...kinda happened on its own. But it does give me a few ideas." Genie said with a grin.

When Aladdin landed, Genie, Jasmine and the Sultan approached him, Abu and Carpet. But Aladdin seemed to back slowly toward a pillar, closing his eyes for a long moment before opening them again.

"Al...what is it? You're...not still dreaming, are you?"

"I'm not dreaming, Genie; I never was. I can hear you, but I can't see you."

"Aladdin, can you see me?"

"No...I can't...I wish I could, Jasmine. I know Sultan, you and Genie are here, but I can't see you."

"What about Iago, Carpet, and Abu?"

Aladdin nodded. "I can see them fine."

"Do you see anything...weird?" Genie asked.

"Of course he's gotta see something _weird_. His eyes are still like a monster or _something_!" Iago added, folding his wings together as he perched on the Sultan's shoulder.

Aladdin instinctively shut his eyes at that moment, and Genie gave Iago a glare over his shoulder.

"What? I'm just being honest. Don't tell me it doesn't freak _you_ out, too."

Jasmine walked to Aladdin and placed her hand just above his brow, just barely tracing his cheek while his eyes were closed. "Aladdin, concentrate. Just think about what you know is here."

Aladdin opened his eyes after a long moment, and Jasmine, Genie, and Iago realized the color of them had returned to normal.

"See, I knew it would work. Way to go, Jasmine!" Genie grinned.

"You're not a mind-reader, Genie. _No way_ you knew that was gonna happen." Iago gave him a glare.

"Okay...fine. I didn't know. But it's still a good thing, isn't it?"

"And you call _me_ a lousy liar." Iago said, as he saw Aladdin and Jasmine embrace in silence.

"I'm happy that all of this has finally sorted itself out." The Sultan said with a smile. "And I'm happy to see that you're quite all right Aladdin."

Aladdin's brow narrowed slightly. "No, it's not sorted out at all. That wasn't even the end of anything - it was the beginning."

"What do you mean, my boy?" The Sultan asked, his look of confusion mirroring across Jasmine's, Genie's and Iago's faces.

Aladdin sighed. "Agrabah is in a lot of trouble...and I'm the only one who has any idea on how to stop it."


	16. Chapter 16: Preparation

**Preparation**

Aladdin awoke around mid-morning in his room. After a long night of events, the Sultan insisted that everyone in the Palace should get some rest before they discussed the details of what Aladdin knew about the turn of events that night, what had happened to him, and what he meant about troubles in Agrabah. Aladdin had insisted it could wait until morning, as he didn't want to stir anything up so late in the evening - and it had been a long one for all of them. Genie also took the opportunity to fix up Carpet before they all turned in for the night.

As he leaned against the wall in the kitchen, watching Genie clean up after breakfast, Aladdin realized that he wasn't looking forward to the conversation. He was dressed in his usual turban and prince attire, usually what he would wear during formal meetings and gatherings with other diplomats, but they didn't have any such meetings scheduled for today.

Genie seemed to take notice when Abu waved his hand over Aladdin's eyes and pulled at his facial features.

"Hey, come on, Abu, cut it out." Aladdin scolded.

"Lighten up, Al, he's just trying to cheer you up. *Ah-choo!*" Genie rubbed his nose. "I think I'm allergic to these soap bubbles. "

Abu seemed to shrug off whatever odds there might have been, giving Aladdin a reassuring pat on the back.

"It's not just about me. I didn't even think about what I could do until now - all the running around over the past few days. I'm a fool. "

"You know how I hate to say 'I told you so?' Well..."

"Genie, that's not funny."

Genie stopped in the middle of washing dishes, disappeared and reappeared in front of Aladdin with an abnormally angry face. Aladdin was startled and Abu seemed to shrink back behind Aladdin's collar.

"Excuse me, are you talkin' to me? You come in here in your fancy pants clothes, running around from here to there and everywhere, not telling anyone where you're going, or what you're doing, and you expect me to feel sorry for you? I do NOT think SO!"

Aladdin winced. "I know...."

Genie's expression went from angry to concerned. "Come on, Al, don't tell me you actually bought that. I'm tugging your chain. I know you wouldn't do anything without thinking it through, and especially I know that you wouldn't keep a secret unless it was something important. I think you're really overthinking this. "

"If you knew what I had to tell you, you wouldn't say that."

"Try me."

"Now?"

Genie took the form of something akin to a preppy school girl with glasses, a short skirt, and blond ponytails. He sat Aladdin and Abu in tiny school chairs. Abu's chair looked more like a baby seat than anything else. "Like, _totally_, you should give me the _411_. I'm dying to know, like, what all this crazy stuff is about, _you know_?"

Abu and Aladdin looked at each other and seemed to groan at the same time, more at Genie's form than anything else.

"_What_? I'm just asking, like, what's going on. You are my two BFFs, ever, you know?"

"I don't even know what a BFF is." Aladdin admitted.

"Like, it's only 'Best Friends Forever'? _Duh_." Genie said, placing a lollipop in his mouth.

Aladdin managed a small smile.

"See, that's the kind of reaction I was going for." Genie transformed to his usual voice and form. "So tell me and whatever it is, I won't freak out. I promise."

"Yeah, you promised that yesterday, and look what happened." Aladdin mentioned, shaking his head.

"Well...to be honest, the eye thing was kinda freaky, and you didn't warn me ahead of time."

"I don't think I can warn you now, but I can lead you close to what it is before saying it."

"Fine by me. I'm good at context clues."

Aladdin exhaled sharply, and Abu returned to Aladdin's shoulder,

"Well, about last night...I was attacked by a pack of shadow beasts. I went to find the door to a place called Lamrai - a city of shadows - with Abu and Carpet. The shadow monsters are responsible what happened to Carpet. When we came back from finding the door, I saw the shadows again and ran because there were so many - I thought you, Jasmine, and Sultan were a part of them, just like all the other guards in the castle."

"Shadow beasts....hmm...sounds familiar. Wait...you mean like the ones Grenden sent to attack you?"

"Yeah."

"Wait...that means that when your eyes went weird, you thought we were shadows too?"

"Exactly."

"And the reason all that smoke went up on the roof was..."

"We destroyed what shadows were there - they followed me. The shadows were real. You can even ask Abu and Carpet, since they saw them too!"

"But why are you three the only ones that could see them? At least before they went 'poof.'"

"I don't know...not for certain, anyway."

"Well, that just means we have a big shadow monster problem. It's not like Grenden came back from the dead...or...anything..." Genie trailed off when he saw the look on Aladdin and Abu's faces. "You're kidding?"

"Not kidding. He also attacked me last night, and was the one who sent me off the balcony. I think he did it because he wanted to scare me - and wanted to see if anyone would save me."

Genie had a cross expression on his face, and Aladdin and Abu knew what was going to happen next, and they both moved to cover his mouth.

"Genie, you promised you wouldn't freak out!"

Genie's voice was muffled between Aladdin's and Abu's hands, and he seemed to turn a light shade of red. Aladdin could get the gist of what he was saying, and sighed.

"I know you're worried, but listen. This isn't just about me. The source of his power is in a Throne in Lamrai. If it isn't destroyed before the sun rises tomorrow morning, Agrabah will be overrun with those beasts! And they feed on fear, taking the souls of the people they attack. So this isn't a time to panic."

Genie seemed to calm down and motioned for Aladdin and Abu to unhand his mouth. As they did so, he took a breath and his color returned to normal. "How long did you know Grenden was still alive?"

"He told me he'd fool you guys into thinking you destroyed him. But that's not completely wrong, you just destroyed his physical body. Now, I think he just exists by spirit, or magic."

"So, can the magic and he goes bye bye?"

"Something like that, I think." Aladdin noted hesitantly.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Time to rally up the gang, and onward we march, into battle!"

"No, Genie - I need you to stay here and protect the city."

"WRONG!" Genie's head turned into a TV set with a big red X flashing, complete with a buzzing sound. That transformation only lasted a few seconds. "Al, you can't take this all on by yourself. Especially knowing what kind of complex Grenden has against you. Knowing that poison mystic, he has a few more aces up his sleeve. I'm not letting that guy get anywhere near close to attacking you from now on."

"But if someone doesn't make sure the city's protected, Agrabah could be overrun by shadows before nightfall! And Grenden's power's getting stronger!"

"Not to worry! We'll make preparations and then we'll head to Lamrai. You said you found the door to that place - where exactly is it?"

"Underbelly of Agrabah, in the place where the Akbut used to dwell."

"Really? Huh, I don't remember seeing any doors down there, but if it's that close, there's nothing to worry about. I think we need to bring the others up to speed before doing anything else, though."

"You're right; I guess we'd better do that first." Aladdin noted.

***

It was closer to mid-afternoon when Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet left the palace. Aladdin had told everyone a summary of what he'd told Genie, and Aladdin, Genie, Abu and Iago spread by word of mouth that the citizens needed to stay indoors and keep their shops and homes well-lit. The Palace was adequately prepared with lights as well, as the Sultan had ordered the guards to equip it. Genie was largely in charge of creating the light supplies for anyone who needed them, and Aladdin had helped distribute lanterns for the people to use. By the time they were done, they boarded Carpet and headed to the underground paths Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet had trekked the night before.

But the reception of the news came on a sour note between Jasmine and Aladdin that afternoon, before preparations had even begun, and Aladdin recalled it with a sense of sadness.

"I _KNEW_ it. Knew it all along. No wonder Al was acting all weird. I would be too, if I had an_ immortal_ poison mystic after me!" Iago folded his wings as he sat aboard Carpet.

"You promised me that you wouldn't keep any secrets like this! You lied to me and you lied to everyone here!" Jasmine said, turning his face to hers. "You don't trust me? Is that it?!"

"No, Jasmine, that's not...."

"I trusted you....and you betrayed that, Aladdin." She walked out of the room angrily, and the Sultan winced.

"Oh my...Jasmine...I think you're being too hard on him..."

"I'm going to my room. If Aladdin doesn't want to say anything, then he doesn't have to. He's said enough." She left, with the Sultan going after her, looking apologetically at Aladdin before disappearing.

It was only after Aladdin had helped make preparations that he returned to the palace, with Abu perched on his shoulder. Genie met up with him in the palace hall.

"Genie, I'm going to try to talk to Jasmine and then I'll go on ahead to the underground doors. Can you take care of the rest of the preparations?"

"Sure thing...but I'm joining you as soon as I'm done, got it? No crawling into deep, dark corners until I get there, capiche?"

"Just as long as you're finished before nightfall."

"Will do. Good luck with Jas, Al. She's not exactly in the best of moods. And if I were you, I'd take the balcony way - her doors are locked and even the Sultan couldn't get in to talk to her. Rug-man's with her right now, but he isn't the talkative type."

"I know...but all I can do is try. Thanks." Genie picked him up and flew around the side of the Palace to Jasmine's balcony, where he set Aladdin and Abu safely and gave Aladdin a thumbs up.

"Go get 'er, tiger." Genie said as he disappeared. Aladdin took a deep breath, and Abu gulped as Aladdin pulled back the curtain.

"Jasmine?" He looked around and had his answer as Jasmine sat at her mirror, her head resting on her folded arms. She didn't seem to acknowledge Aladdin entering, and had a sad look on her face as she gazed to the side. Abu lept from Aladdin's shoulder as he went to approach her, and both Carpet and Abu watched from a distance as Aladdin took a seat beside her.

"Jasmine...I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but..."

"Leave me alone, Aladdin."

Aladdin lowered his head. "I didn't mean to hurt you, or lie to you....and I know you asked me to keep a promise, but I agreed to that promise because you asked me, even in a time when I had something I couldn't tell you. Something important."

"And just what is it that you couldn't tell me...that you can't tell me even now?! What's so important that you have to not only hide it from me, but from everyone else too? Don't you care at all?!"

"I do! I...do. It's because I care that I can't say anything about it."

"And so that just...allows you to forgo everything else? You knew Grenden was alive and that he was after you this whole time? Why didn't you say anything about it?! What am I supposed to believe?!"

"Believe that I love you, Jasmine. If you can't listen to anything else that I say, then...believe that." Aladdin stood to his feet, and gently touched her shoulders, kissing her cheek. "It might be the last time I can ever say this to you," he whispered.

Her eyes widened, and she sat up as Aladdin moved away from her. "Aladdin...wait!"

He turned to her briefly, a sad expression crossing his face. "Don't ask me what I mean by that, because I can't tell you. Not now. Just know that I'm going to try as hard as I can to find my way back, and make sure nothing happens to you or Agrabah. Carpet, Abu, let's move!"

As Aladdin left aboard Carpet with Abu, Jasmine watched them leave through the curtains and toward the horizon, where the sun covered the skyline of Agrabah with brilliant orange and blood red highlights.

"Aladdin...."


	17. Chapter 17: Poison

**Poison**

Iago flew around the castle with Genie, making sure all of the lanterns around the castle were lit. "I still don't understand why we gotta light all these candles and lanterns."

"Al said that these lights should be around the castle so the shadows won't attack. I've already gone through town and warned everybody and put up every searchlight, flashlight, streetlight that I could think of."

"I get it already." Iago said, exasperated. "But it all looks _awkward_ when the sun hasn't set!"

"Genie, where did Aladdin go?" Both Iago and Genie turned around to see Jasmine rushing toward them.

"You just missed him, Jas. Al just left not too long ago - actually just saw him flying to the city."

"We have to go after him. I think Aladdin might be going straight into a trap."

"Now, have you ever known me to not follow Al, even when he says not to? Besides, I got an Al tracker right here." Genie pointed to a remote control device which he pulled from his pocket and then swiftly put it back in. "I put it on Carpet before they left. As soon as we finish up these last lights...which I think is right about now, then we're going after him!" Genie lit the last candle, and put a thumbs up at a job completed.

"No way. _Not me_! I'm not going into some dark and scary..._AHH_!" Iago was grabbed by his tailfeathers by Genie.

"I think we will. I think the Sultan can hold down the fort while we're gone. So, let's get ready to _rumble_!" Genie scooped both Iago and Jasmine and turned into a rocket. He counted down from 5, and when he reached 1, the rocket launched, zooming out of the Palace.

***

Aladdin, Abu and Carpet made their way through the well lit underground path. Aladdin scanned the area to see if there were any shadow beasts waiting for them, but was surprised to see that there were none, not even lurking in the shadows.

"I guess it's a good thing we came before nightfall."

Abu seemed to bristle as he sat not far from Aladdin's hip, as the three of them made the final corner turn to reach the door to Lamrai. It continued to stream dark mist from around its edges, and the designs seemed to glow in a pulsing rhythm, like a heartbeat. Abu wearily climbed up to Aladdin's right shoulder, looking at the looming door.

At that moment, Abu felt something slam into him from behind while yelling at the same time. The sudden intrusion startled Aladdin too, as he saw Abu plow, with a screech, straight into the door.

It didn't take long for Aladdin to figure out whose red plumage seemed to fly residually in the air before seeing him and Abu slide to the foot of the door.

"Iago?!"

"Okay...I'm never lettin' Genie drive me anywhere again. Especially if it's in a rocket." Iago coughed. "I think my stomach just found a new place in my throat."

Aladdin scooped Abu and Iago in his arms. "Where is Genie, anyway? I didn't know he brought you along with him."

"I told him I didn't wanna come, but he brought me anyway - those are the works. And Jasmine too. She thinks you're runnin' off into some kind of trap. I dunno what you said to her, but she doesn't hold a chip on her shoulder for long when it comes to you being in some kind of trouble."

"Jasmine came too? She's not mad at me?"

"I swear, you two get mad at each other for _five seconds_ and the next you're all lovey dovey. _Bleh_. I haven't seen anyone else with that close of a recovery time."

"Jealous." Abu said with a grin.

"I _never said_ I was jealous. And...wait a sec - this the door you were talkin' about?"

Aladdin's brow narrowed. "Yeah, I think if Genie and Jasmine aren't far away, we should get moving. We don't have much time to find Grenden's Throne."

"Do you even know what this Throne looks like?"

"I haven't, but I'll know when I see it."

"Great. Remind me again why _we_ should trust your intuition if it got us into this mess in the first place." Iago took to his wings and flew out of Aladdin's arms, while Abu scurried towards the door.

"We'll find out soon enough."

Aladdin walked to the door, placing his hand on the handle. The door started glowing more brilliantly, with an red-orange hue.

"Aladdin, wait!"

Aladdin turned around and saw Jasmine and Genie approaching them. Iago continued to look at the door as Aladdin held the handle. He hadn't opened the door yet.

"Jasmine...I..."Before Aladdin could say anything else, Jasmine put a finger to his lips. Both seemed to look at each other with guilt ridden expressions, as if they knew what the other would say before it was even said. But Jasmine broke the silence with a sigh.

"I think I should be the one to apologize. None of this was your fault at all, and...well...you've been through a lot the past few days. I just don't want anything horrible to happen to you."

Aladdin put an arm around Jasmine's waist and held her close as they looked into each other's eyes. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, either, Jasmine. But let me ask you one thing - do you trust me?"

"Yes." She noted without hesitation.

"Then whatever happens after this won't matter whether I told you it would or not. Trust me enough to know things will be all right, no matter how it might be said to turn out. I...no...._we_ make our own destiny."

"Atta boy, Al! Oh...oops." Genie covered his mouth as all of them turned to look at Genie.

"At least he breaks the mushy moment. Don't we need to get going already?!" Iago said impatiently.

"Oh, almost forgot....I figured you might want to use this in Lamrai." Genie rummaged through a bag he conjured in mid-air, and pulled out the diamond adorned sword that Grenden had left in their possession. He handed it to Aladdin, who looked at it in confusion as he received it in both hands.

"Grenden's sword? Genie, why are you giving me this now? I thought it was in the palace treasury."

"Well, I did a little bit of background research and realized this isn't just any sword. It's a dual sword that can fight shadows. It doesn't have any mystic powers, but it's better to go armed into Lamrai than not have anything at all. I think Grenden used that against the beasts himself."

"But that doesn't make much sense. If he's allied with the shadow beasts of Lamrai, why would he need this? And why would he leave it with me?" Aladdin said, studying it in his hands.

"Maybe he got rid of it because he didn't need it anymore?"

"Well..." Aladdin twisted the sword in his hands. "I guess it's better to take it than leave it. Everyone ready?"

"I'm not, but then again, I get dragged to these kinds of things all the time. Same as usual. Let's go before I change my mind." Iago said, shrugging his wings.

Aladdin looked at the silent nods of everyone else, and opened the door.

The reaction was immediate, as soon as the door handle turned, the door thrust open, and like a vacuum, the darkness that had once streamed from the sides of the door, started to retreat. It lifted Aladdin from his feet before he had a chance to respond.

"Genie!"

"_Al! Jasmine! _ Hang on!"

Jasmine, Genie, Iago, Abu, and Carpet were all pulled into the doorway simultaneously. Genie was able to grab Abu and Iago in one arm, but he couldn't reach Carpet or Jasmine in time before they were pulled into the dark vortex. Abu started screeching loudly.

"Genie, get us on the other side of the door, already!" Iago shouted.

"I can't, my grip's slipping!" Genie struggled to push his feet ahead of him, back through the door, but the vortex sucked them back in. Iago, Abu, and Genie yelled as the vortex pulled them into the darkness.

The door closed with a resounding thud, and disappeared into a stream of dark mist, leaving a dead end of a regular rocky cave.

_***_

Iago was the first one to awaken and look around. He'd landed on his belly and his eyes were kind of hazy from the loop around he'd had coming in, but he realized they were in some kind of grand, cave walled castle. It seemed to be a grand foyer, with a mahogany tiled floor, two doors leading left and right the room, and a fireplace with two couches facing each other in front of it. Various paintings and a few bookshelves decorated the room.

"Whoa now...I never seen anything like this before. This is Grenden's place? He's livin' _large_. If I didn't hate him so much, I'd like to live here. I don't do poison mystics though. Sure, I've lived with Jafar being a sorcerer. But both of them have on thing in common - they make my feathers molt."

Iago scanned the room, and saw Abu lying motionless a distance away. Iago flew over to the monkey and shook him by the shoulders.

"Come on already, monkey, say somethin, will ya?"

"Owwie." Abu opened his eyes, saw Iago, and seemed to wipe his brow with relief.

"Yeah, well, I'm not so glad to see you. Anyway, I don't see Genie, or Aladdin, or Jasmine, or Rug Boy anywhere around. That means we're in trouble."

"Trouble?" Abu adjusted his fez and looked around the room, taking in the scenery and whistling.

"I know, it's nice. Almost too nice if you ask me. For a guy with no skin and red eyes, he's livin' better than I thought he would. Of course, this might have been his place when he was human. If he was human _at all_. Come on, we're gettin' out of here."

Iago started walking towards the left door, but Abu grabbed his tailfeathers and started pointing towards the right.

"You think we should go through THAT door? What makes you think that door might be any better than going my way?!"

Abu shrugged, but continued to point in the direction of the right door.

"Fine. I don't feel like going by myself anywhere in this place." The two made their way to the door, and Iago flew to the door handle and pressed it downward. Abu pushed the door, and walked into what seemed to be a long, dimly lit hallway.

"After you, Abu." Iago said, though Abu caught on that Iago had more fear in his voice than common courtesy, but as much as Abu felt a lump forming in his throat, he plodded ahead on his limbs. It was then they came to a small room, which resulted in a dead end. But what Abu saw made him utter a "Wow". Iago flew ahead to where Abu gazed.

"Whoa is right. I think we just stumbled on Grenden's trophy room."

The two looked around a semi circular room with a rocky wall, and stacked on rocky shelves were an array of exquisite gems mounted on tiny stands individually. There seemed to be dozens of them, sparkling dimly in the light of a desk with a lantern in the middle of the room. Iago scanned the stands and saw that there were names on each.

"Geez, and I thought I was bad. This guy's so particular about his gems that he names 'em all. Look, he even named one after himself. Ego, much?"

Abu started screeching frantically from the other end of the room, towards a bottom row of gems.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Look, look!" Abu pointed to two empty stands, both inscribed with the names of two individuals. Iago read the name inscribed on the first stand. "Prince Adib-Bali? Grenden went through the trouble of actually naming one of his gems after a Prince? That's kinda lame." But Iago's jaw dropped when he saw the name on the next stand.

"Okay...I'm gonna ask the 120,000 dinari question...why's Aladdin's name _on this stand_?!"

***

Genie woke and saw Carpet stirring not far from where he was.

"Whoa. I've been in loop arounds before, but that was a doozy. You okay, Rug-Man?"

Carpet nodded, but pointed frantically to their right, where Aladdin and Jasmine started to stir.

"Aladdin, Jasmine...I think you might wanna take a look around this place. It's not exactly unhospitable territory." Genie said looking around the room.

Aladdin opened his eyes to look around what seemed to be a dining area, with a crimson tiled floor and rocky walls, with a chandler hanging over the table, seated for seven individuals.

"What...is this place?" Aladdin found himself saying aloud.

"I don't know, but it seems...very well kept." Jasmine took to her feet shortly after Aladdin stood in place. "It looks like an underground castle; they even decorated the floors with tiles."

"This might be Grenden's domain then. I didn't expect it to be so...fancy." Aladdin went over to Genie and helped pull him to his feet.

"That makes two of us. By the way, we're not all accounted for...we're missing a loud parrot and an overly anxious monkey." Genie quipped.

"I noticed. I hope they're not in trouble." Aladdin noticed his turban was missing but shook his head of the thought. But just as he noted that, he heard a loud screech reverberate through the room.

"Abu! Genie, I think he's that way."

"All righty, we're going after the monkey, ASAP! Board the Carpet, no stragglers allowed." Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie boarded Carpet and they sped through the winding corridor in the direction of Abu's call.

***

"If I didn't know any better...I think that stone Grenden tried to steal had somethin' to do with all this. 'Cause Al did say some guy tried to warn him about what a bad person Grenden was. But what kinda magic would there have to be for some random guy...unless...wait a sec...."

Abu looked at Iago and started screeching, waving his hands and covering Iago's mouth, but Iago struggled until he took his wings and pinned Abu's hands at his side.

"Monkey, what are you doing? You know I don't usually think about things, but this is serious! The guy who tried to warn Al might have been that Prince. But that doesn't make any sense! He couldn't warn him unless there was some kinda magic involved."

"No, no, no! Stop, stop, stop!" Abu screeched.

"Wait a sec...you know somethin', don't you? I _knew_ it! Instead of everybody asking ME what's going on, I bet you knew what was goin' on with Al the whole time!"

"Uh uh." Abu shook his head honestly, with a downcast expression.

"Then you got any better ideas? It's already freaky Al had the whole weird thing going on with his eyes. And then Grenden tries to kill him more than once...no way, I gotta stop doing this...I gotta stop thinking...forget it, I don't wanna know. Only thing I know for sure, is that Grenden has some kinda weird hobby and it's creeping me out. I wouldn't be surprised if he named one of his gems after ME. Though I would hope he'd pick out a good one and let me keep it."

Abu slapped his forehead with a paw. "Oh brother."

***

"I know we heard Abu from somewhere down this way, but we haven't heard anything since." Jasmine looked through the winding underground halls which shone brilliantly with suits of armor and other decor as Carpet flew by them at a more than moderate speed. Aladdin gripped Carpet's edge, scanning the sights of the area, while Jasmine did the same. Genie sat behind them, whistling in amazement.

"For an underground castle, this is spiffy...makes me wonder how a guy like Grenden gets all this stuff for himself. And how he afforded it. He must be a Sultan or something himself here. Though I don't know what a Sultan of a shadow world actually does."

"I'm actually starting to worry about Abu and Iago now. Not only that, we haven't seen any kind of Throne in these rooms. Or any of Grenden's minions...yet. I wonder how far along this place goes."

"Al, there could be a hundred rooms down here. It seems that expansive. I wonder if there's any kind of upper ground to be had here in Lamrai. I mean, Grenden's gotta come up for some fresh air sometime or another. Then again..." Genie's face contorted into a look of fear. "I don't even know the last time that guy's seen any kind of sunlight except for Agrabah. What with his skinless complexion and all..."

"Well, if he's down here, we'll find him eventually. But we need to find Iago and Abu before..." Aladdin felt a strange wave of something come over him, and it made him close his eyes and reopen them to find that the room was empty. Jasmine, Genie, and Carpet had disappeared, and he was suspended in midair.

"What...What just...? Not again..." Aladdin recognized the same reaction from the previous night, and wondered what would happen next. He felt pain seize his body afterward, like something inside of him was clawing its way out of him.

"Looks like the poison is working its way through you." Grenden's voice was low, and the mystic appeared before him with two guarding beasts. Grenden's eyes seemed to narrow, and his voice was laughing.

"If there's something about you, Aladdin, that I like compared to any other I've ever met, prince or no prince - you have much more spirit. Vigor. Fortitude. You fight even past a destiny in which you may fear the uncertain in the greater depths of your heart. It makes me relish the chance to break it. It's fate that we met on the streets of Agrabah perhaps, but even more, I would have found you eventually in my search for souls."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't believe in fate." Aladdin went to unsheath his sword, but found it wasn't at his side. "No way..."

"You're not sorry at all, and in this suspension of darkness, as you are now, you can brandish no weapons. I did use that sword once, and I left it to see if you would figure out its function - but I suppose your Genie already told you. It doesn't matter what you believe, as events are already starting to take their course. I think a certain bird friend of yours is starting to put the pieces together, which is why you're here. At least your confidant was nice enough to stop him before he went ahead of himself - lest we wouldn't even have this conversation. Instead your spirit would be inside of this."

Grenden pulled something from beneath his cape, and when his hand revealed it, Aladdin felt his breath subside.

"That's....That's the gem I gave to Jasmine..." He noticed the color had changed from a light pink to a dark crimson, and he wondered if it was on the part of Grenden's doing.

"I stole it from your Palace. It really wasn't that hard to get, and it was a fitting piece of irony - trapping your soul and peeling away your humanity in the heart you placed in unearthing this gem. Of course, I knew not that you would find such a trinket. Do you still not believe in fate now, Aladdin?"

"Al! Come on, snap out of it!"

"Genie..." Aladdin recognized the voice immediately and felt his reality shift. Grenden seemed to backtrack at the shift.

"Hmph. Seems your friends are calling you back. You don't have much longer. Even as the night has not yet settled in Agrabah, I think your friends will figure your fate well before then. But if you prove me wrong, you're welcome to do so, boy."

"You monster..." Aladdin summoned what strength he had against the pain in his body and leapt at Grenden's form, but the mystic and his two beasts had disappeared. Yet again, it was quiet and he realized the room still had an emptiness to it. He kneeled, clutching the sides of his arms to keep his mind clear.

"What happens now....how do I get back to them?" Aladdin remembered Jasmine's words from the night before and realized that he had inadvertently done the same thing when in the same position before.

"Right. I just have to focus on what I know's here." He closed his eyes, and started to fight the effects of the poison flowing through him.


	18. Chapter 18: Darkness

_Author's Note: For those of you who have followed "Aladdin and the Poison Mystic" up until this time - thank you so much and I hope you're enjoying it thus far. The story should be wrapping up in the next few chapters as a bit of a heads up - I planned for 20 chapters to this story (with a brief epilogue), and it's pretty much set in stone. I'll likely go back through the previous chapters to make sure there are no grammatical errors and typos that I may have missed, but the content at this time is quite solid. I wrote this story initially quite a few years ago and it's one of the first fanfiction stories I ever wrote (go easy on me - I know it's not perfect ^_^; ) Most of what's taking my time uploading these chapters are content issues and checking to make sure it fits continuity. Nonetheless, it was quite a story to write._

_As per usual: All Aladdin Characters are © to Disney and their respective creators. There are definitely bit references throughout this story to other mediums and well known works, as well, but only as bit tributes. No copyright infringement intended. Original characters (i.e. Grenden, Baram) are my own._

**Darkness**

Genie and Jasmine sat close to Carpet in what seemed to be a candlelit meeting room, bending over Aladdin as he seemed to be in a dazed sleep, breathing rhythmically, albeit with sharp breaths interspersed.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Jasmine asked as she held one of Aladdin's hands in hers.

"I don't know, but I can start thinking of creative ways of waking him up. Let's see..." Genie pulled out a pen and paper. "Brewing coffee - smell definitely helps wake someone up. Smell or taste of garlic...bleh, but it might be a good pick-me-upper. Unless Al's turning into a vampire, and that wouldn't be a good fix...though it does explain why he's been up at night a lot more than he's been during the day..."

"Genie..." Jasmine gave Genie a stern look that signaled to him that she was very serious, and his tone changed. He put a reassuring hand on Jasmine's shoulder.

"No idea. I'm just as worried about him as you are. What bugs me is that it happened last night, too. Wouldn't be surprised if it's some trick of Grenden's, or just an effect of being here. Wish I knew of some quick fix to help him."

"Well, Aladdin did say that we needed to find Grenden's Throne, so the sooner we can, then..." Jasmine trailed off in thought, and Genie picked up on the idea.

"Problem is, we haven't been able to make heads for tails of this place." Genie summoned a map in his hands, replacing the pen and pad he'd been writing on. "According to where I've been tracking, we've been here, here, here, and here, and we're now here. Marked with a big red X I made myself. Maybe a little too big." He pointed through a trail that Carpet had flown, and Jasmine seemed surprised at the extended trek.

"We've been through that many rooms? It really is an underground palace, then."

"Yep, but not one sign of a throne, an upper ground, Grenden, or the beasts Al, Carpet and Abu saw last night. Not to mention I haven't heard Iago or Abu anywhere since we started. Something's gotta be wrong, because I would have heard Iago a long time before now, at least."

"_GENIE!"_

Genie's face seemed to light up as he heard the familiar voice. "And I think that would be right on queue. Stay here with Carpet and Al, Jas, I have a bird to catch, and he's definitely not far away from here."

"Okay, hurry back as soon as you can."

Genie took off through one of the doorways and sped through a distance of waving snake-like paths before coming across what seemed to be a large, underground ballroom with several doors.

It was very well constructed, with tiles and red carpeting, not to mention a chandelier hanging from the rocky ceiling. Genie looked around, turning an almost full circle, at the various crimson hued chairs and tables with cloths on the sides of the room. But he snapped himself into attention at the matter at hand.

"Okay. So Iago's voice definitely came from this area, so it's just a matter of figuring out which door to take." He said, cracking his knuckles. He transformed into a full suited game show host. "Hello and good evening everyone. I'm your host, Genie and we're coming to you live with 'Choose that Door!'" Genie had a mock audience repeat the name of the pseudo game show, though there didn't seem to be anyone watching, or listening, anywhere in sight. Genie shrugged it off and continued. "Let's get started by seeing what's behind Door #1!"

Genie opened the first door to realize it was a fake door - only covering a rocky wall as a decoration. He rapped against it with a knuckle, but he realized there was no getting through it.

"And it looks like Door #1 is a dud. Sorry folks, this is not a winner. Let's try Door #2." Genie tried the second door and nearly fell as he stepped into the darkness. He summoned his powers to float, looking around the area. When he summoned a flashlight, he realized it was a trap area with spikes at the very bottom.

"And if I didn't have the magic to fly, that would've sent my life insurance bill sky high." Genie retreated to the doorway and shut it promptly. "And it looks like Door #2 was not a winner either! Let's try Door #3, all! You know what they say - third time's always a charm!"

Genie opened the third door and came across a normal looking room opening up into somewhat of a foyer, with a fireplace, red couches, and decor that resembled some of the other rooms that he'd been before that time.

"Okay...This looks normal. No hidden surprises...no trap doors. Kinda cozy."

Genie heard a familiar screeching in the distance.

"Looks like I hit the jackpot." Genie transformed back to normal and swiftly flew through the door ahead of him.

***

"I'm startin' to wonder if they even got to the same place we are. Ugh. By the way, WHY are we still standing around here, when we could be out there looking for whatever Throne Al wants us to find?! Sooner we get rid of that mystic, the better!"

Abu studied each of the gems carefully, rapping against them with his knuckles. They seemed like regular gems, of all different sizes, but taking on variable shapes upon each stand. But he nearly dropped the one he held when he saw another gem, with shifting eyes, replace the empty space that had once been before him.

"I made you look! Haha!" Genie had taken the form of a gem, and startled Iago as he appeared in his normal form.

"How many times do I gotta tell you NOT to do that?!" Iago grabbed Genie's face, squishing it with his wings. Genie didn't seem to mind.

"I'm happy to see you too."

"You're assuming I'm actually happy. Well, I'm NOT! We've got a situation, _big time_."

Genie frowned. "So do we. Jasmine and Carpet are with Al. We were coming to look for you two. I'm surprised you're not taking any of the gems you've seen around this place yet - knowing your tendency for treasure."

"That's the problem. There's somethin' weird about the treasure around here. And I don't do weird or cursed treasure."

"Cursed?" Genie raised a brow.

"How else do you explain Grenden naming gems after himself and Al?"

Genie took the opportunity to look around the room, even taking the gem from Abu's paws and examining it with a careful eye.

"Other than just having a really weird complex, I don't know. None of these look like they're cursed to...wait a minute...these aren't any ordinary gems. I can smell the magic coming off of these things." Genie's face transformed from curious observance to subdued contemplation.

"I told you so." Iago said, while Abu scratched his head in confusion.

Genie turned the stone in his hands. "There's some kind of binding magic on this one, probably just like the other ones. If I can unlock it with my semi-phenomenal nearly cosmic powers, maybe it might give some kind of clue as to what Grenden's planning. What did you say about Al being named in Grenden's gem collection, again?"

Iago pulled the end of Genie's curled facial hair and pointed. "THERE. Right on that stand, right there. Abu was the one who saw it first."

"Uh huh." Abu agreed, happy that, for once, Iago decided to give him some credit.

Genie noted Aladdin's name among those printed on the front of each stand, and placed his thumb and index finger under his chin, in part because Iago had pulled it, and another in that he found himself thinking. "I think I'll stick with trying to figure out what's in this gem first."

Genie conjured some magic in his left hand, and used it on the gem in his right. The gem glowed for a solid minute before returning to normal. It was then that Genie started hearing the influx of furious whispers, and occasional shouts - hurried, varied, and so much so that he couldn't understand them. It made him turn a pale shade, and he found his back against one of the bare walls of the circular room.

"What's wrong with you?" Iago noted impatiently. "I don't think anything you did unlocked anything!"

"You guys don't hear that?" Genie said, his voice low.

Abu and Iago looked at each other, and shook their heads.

"Well, spit it out already!" Iago shouted.

Genie gulped, his eyes moving from side to side, and muttered in a whisper. "I hear _dead_ people."

***

Jasmine sighed under her breath, sitting close to Aladdin and atop Carpet, whom had found a place to settle in the room as they waited for Genie to return. She looked around the area, noting that Genie had been gone for a little while longer than she had hoped. Carpet seemed a little restless, but only on the note that they seemed to be in the same place for some time. She ran her hand on Carpet's woven end gently.

"I know how you feel Carpet - but I don't want to chance going anywhere without Genie and the others. And Aladdin..." She noted Aladdin's expression. "He looks like he's sleeping, but having a bad dream."

"Perhaps you should let him sleep, then, Princess."

Jasmine turned to the direction of the mysterious voice that seemed to come around the corner, walking into the dim light of a nearby lantern. His thick cloaks bound around his torso, arms and legs, and his gloves and boots covered any trace of exposed skin that could have made its way. His red eyes burned with intrigue as he peered into her eyes.

"You! You're...."

"Grenden? Yes, a poison mystic care of 87 years, and you are indeed in my humble abode. I welcome you to Lamrai. I have to commend Aladdin. He has charming tastes. For one as beautiful as yourself to marry a street rat like him - it is truly a miracle among the seven deserts."

"That's none of your concern. Why are you doing this to Aladdin?"

Grenden's burning eyes seemed to narrow - he didn't confirm or answer her statement directly, instead choosing to pace into the room, approaching her slowly. "We met by fate. My grudge against him is both personal and functional, though I must say at this point it is more of the latter - I never realized what a...strong spirit Aladdin possesses. But those are terms that are between the two of us, which I must say, he's kept quite well on his end of the bargain. I never told him that he couldn't tell anyone I was alive and faked my own demise, but it even took him late to say that to all of you - and especially you. He's kept many secrets from you in the past, always trying to do the right thing. From the time he met you - a simple peasant on the streets of Agrabah loving one of royalty, to even the time when you welcomed that loudmouthed parrot into your company, traitor that he was."

"How...do you know all of this?" Jasmine stood to her feet, backing against a wall as Grenden approached her and trying to conceal her surprise. Carpet remained where he was, both moving in some measure of fear and subtle frenzy as he tried to wake Aladdin without drawing Grenden's attention.

"I dabble in poisons of the mind and heart, dear Princess." He bowed to her briefly. "Doing so affords me the opportunity to know many things about those in my company. Yourself included. And I am fascinated by the kingdom of Agrabah. And yourself as well." He placed his hand gently under her chin, tilting her head to gaze into his eyes. She looked away, shutting her eyes as the redness seemed to burn her sight.

"It's a pity you can't see my face. I should have liked to show it to you, and the opportunity to touch such delicate skin. Alas, I have lost much of those functions over many years. But if it is the price I pay to gain what I desire, then I pay it with no regrets. I accept fate as truth, and nothing else."

"You're wrong."

"Oh, your husband said the same thing. That I'm a fool to accept fate as it is."

"No. Aladdin is right about that, but you're wrong about thinking I would let you touch me." She slapped his hand away quickly. Grenden laughed heartily.

"Now I see why both of you are such a match to each other. Such a fiery spirit. It's too bad, because once your kingdom becomes my own, there will be nothing to stop me from what I want, even if that includes yourself, dear Princess."

Before Jasmine could say anything, she saw the flash of a sword positioned to the side of Grenden's neck.

"I think you've made your point, Grenden, but I think it's time I made mine. As Prince of Agrabah, and as long as I have anything to say about it, you'll _never_ be welcomed in our kingdom."

Jasmine smiled with relief as she saw Aladdin, holding the dual sword close to the mystic's robes. She fled from where Grenden had cornered her to Aladdin's side, hugging him lightly. She hadn't noticed that Aladdin had stirred in the time Grenden had cornered her, and used Carpet to silently sneak behind Grenden.

"Are you okay, Jasmine?"

"I should be the one asking you that question - you had me worried."

Grenden turned to Aladdin with eyes that danced with amusement, as he faced the point of the sword still at his neck. "You really think a small sword like that will stop me, Aladdin? Fool, I had no use for that sword and it is useless against one as powerful as myself." He boasted proudly.

"I wouldn't say it's all that useless." Aladdin noted with a sly smile, suddenly taking the sword from Grenden's neck and throwing it swiftly to the side, aiming at a rope that held a nearby drapery, which started to fall as it cut the rope. Grenden was caught by surprise as the decorative drape fell, and growled with rage as he struggled to pull them from over his head. Aladdin whistled for Carpet, and taking Jasmine by the hand, helped her aboard as they sped from the room, grabbing his sword on the way.

"Where's Genie?"

"He went to look for Iago and Abu; he said they were close by, somewhere this way, but he hasn't been back in a while." Jasmine noted as Carpet flew them down a stretch of snake like, rocky paths.

"Well, we'll just have to catch up to him. Give it all you've got, Carpet!"

"Aladdin?"

"What's wrong?" He looked back at Jasmine, concerned.

She encircled her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his back. She wanted to ask him something on her mind, but decided it was better left unsaid. "It's nothing. I'm glad you're all right."

***

Genie had his hands clasped over his ears and winced at the sounds that filled his ears. He hadn't anticipated that his magic would unlock unseal the sounds of what he could only identify as souls crying out. Unfortunately, and Genie knew it all too well, only magic beings could make head for tails of the sounds. Abu and Iago were confused by Genie's reaction, not knowing what to do. Abu studied the glowing gem in his paws, catching it just as Genie had been startled by it before.

"You're the one that used your power to unlock that gem. Just lock it back and make the noises stop. Of course, you could be crazy... because I don't hear anything!"

"You make it sound like the easiest thing in the entire cosmic universe!" Genie noted, disgruntled. "I didn't ask for this! And neither did the soul that was left in that thing!"

"Soul?!"

"Yeah. These are _soul crystals_. I remember reading about them a long time ago. So this is what Al was talking about when he said a Throne had to be the source of Grenden's power. That means as a mystic, he's using these souls to make himself more powerful - and whatever other magic he controls. Get rid of the throne, bye bye crystals, and hello freedom! At least to the souls trapped inside, anyway."

"And you just forgot to mention this?!"

"I didn't know! And now that I think about it - it all makes sense why Grenden wanted to get revenge on Al. The gem that he tried to steal from the Marketplace had a soul inside of it!" Genie's face brightened at the recognition. "If it was cracked, there's no way Grenden could use it; I was always under the impression that soul crystals can't just drop and crack like eggshells."

"Genie! Where are you?!"

"Al!" Genie saw Aladdin, Jasmine and Carpet as they flew into the tiny room. "You're okay!" Genie picked up Aladdin from Carpet and hugged him tightly, but it was only shortly afterwards that Genie realized the soul had stopped its earsplitting call.

"Now that's weird...."

"What's weird?" Jasmine asked.

"The moment you two flew in here, they stopped."

"Who stopped?" Aladdin said, taking to his feet as Genie set him down and Abu scurried up Aladdin's shoulder in relief.

"The voices from that crystal. I took away the magic that bound it, and it started whispering and yelling. It was only when you two came in that it stopped."

"Or so he says." Iago noted, but shook his head and looked at Aladdin. "By the way, Grenden's got some kinda complex against you. I don't think you wanna tangle with him anytime soon."

Aladdin turned to him, frowning. "We just did. And if we don't hurry, he'll catch up with us soon." It was only then that Aladdin realized the place they were standing, and looked up at all the gems that were arranged in the room.

"_Find the door, cursed one. Then you'll save us all from the darkness. Search for the false treasure, and you shall find the Throne's door._"

Aladdin heard the voice clear in his mind, and he saw the jewel that Abu held in his hand glow in a pulsing rhythm.

"...False treasure to find the Throne's door? What kind of false treasure would be in here?"

"You heard that?" Genie said, surprised.

"I didn't know that you did." Aladdin returned. "But it's a lead to where the Throne might be. However cryptic it might be. Did anyone else hear that voice?"

Everyone except for Aladdin, Genie, and Carpet shook their heads.

"Usually magic beings can only hear this kind of message, so it is kinda unusual, but I guess there are a lot of things here that qualify." Genie said, shrugging his shoulders.

"But what would be a false treasure here? We'd have to go through all of the gems to figure that out." Jasmine noted, her eyes scanning the room.

Abu started screeching, dropping the pulsing gem into Aladdin's hands as he scurried to one of the shelves, with the stand that bore Grenden's name. He pointed to the stand.

"Nice, Abu! It doesn't really make much sense for him to have his own name with a gem." Aladdin handed Abu the brilliant blue gem, and lifted the orange, half moon shaped gem sitting on Grenden's name bearing stand.

In Aladdin's hands, it started to glow brilliantly, shifting between orange and black patterns around its surface before disappearing a blaze of light that streaked towards the empty wall in the circular room. A door with rocky stairs leading downward appeared.

"Okay, now I get why he had a jewel with his own name on it, but that still doesn't explain why Aladdin has his name here." Iago noted.

Aladdin saw the stand that bore his name, and shook his head.

"Al, I'm guessing you know what these gems are from that reaction." Genie said with a frown.

"Yeah, I do, it's like I told you at the Palace - Grenden's planning to take the souls of people in Agrabah and use them for his own power. There's more to it than that, but...after we find the Throne and make sure it's gone for good, I'll explain everything."

Abu and Carpet seemed to nod in agreement, and all of them started down the stairs.


	19. Chapter 19: Decisions

**Decisions**

Aladdin and Genie reached the foot of the stairs to see everyone looking ahead of them in awe. The room was indeed the throne room, small, but elegantly designed. Many pictures decorated the walls on the sides, the upholstery was the same hue of crimson that they'd seen throughout the underground rooms. There were tall bookshelves lining the room, and there were fountains and streams of liquid paths in the room leading to the throne, but the hue was bubbling green.

"They don't call him a poison mystic for nothin'; look at that water - I don't even wanna think about drinking that stuff." Iago's face seemed to turn green at the sight of it.

"Well, at least we're where we need to be." Aladdin spoke under his breath.

"So all we have to do is nix the Throne ahead of us, huh? Somehow I get the feeling this isn't going to be as easy as it looks." Genie noted.

"Genie, we don't even know what throne it is." Jasmine noted as she looked around the room.

"I hate to state the obvious, but the Throne is right in front of us!" Iago mentioned.

"Maybe to you, Iago, but who's to say that Grenden doesn't mean any of the other pictures and figurines of thrones that are around this room." Jasmine noted, pointing out the decor around the room. Even Aladdin noted the same observation when he first entered, knowing the task wouldn't be as easy as he hoped.

"You are quite the astute princess, for certain. I wouldn't let you just walk into my throne room and destroy the source of my power, now would I?" Grenden's voice echoed in the room before his form revealed itself upon the throne in a mass of dark mist. He clapped his hands together in a steady applause.

"I congratulate you, Aladdin. Not only are you the first to step foot in my throne room, but you're also the first to not take on the task of trying to come to Lamrai alone. You have a loyal group of friends, and you still managed to tell them about most my plans without breeching our little agreement. But the measure of it all is that you're still lying to them."

"Maybe not everything about what's going on is out in the open, but I do plan to tell them everything. After we stop your plan." Aladdin stepped ahead of the group, toward Grenden, while Jasmine placed her hands on his shoulders reassuringly.

"Perhaps I should introduce the final part of the bargaining chip I've had for quite some time now, Prince Aladdin. That is what you've wanted me to call you, since you seem so ill at me calling you for what you are and what you once were : a street rat." Before Aladdin could protest, the mystic stood from his throne, and conjured something in his right hand - a vial of swirling orange liquid that gleamed in the dimly lit areas of the room.

"I do believe that aside from my Throne, Aladdin, you were searching this as well. Certainly more on a personal note, wouldn't you say?"

Aladdin didn't say anything, but he realized that the liquid vial held the anecdote to the poison inside him. He grimaced briefly, but Iago broke the silence.

"Um...I think you got the wrong party somewhere in the whole, oh...I don't know, soul stealing stuff you've been doing, but we don't really need a vial of your poison liquids or powders. I get the feeling they'd be a rip off if we tried to buy them from you. Of course, I never thought you'd be the type to advertise. Which by the way - the attire is really not helping your case with selling that stuff."

Grenden laughed heartily. "You're an amusing parrot, I grant you that, Iago. But I think you fail to grasp the value this liquid really has. I'm sure Aladdin knows it quite well."

"Aladdin..." Jasmine looked at Aladdin as his head was lowered from where he stood. "What could be so important about that vial?"

"I can't say it, Jasmine."

"Why? Because you're under his terms. Just what kind of contract did you make with Grenden?"

"It wasn't a contract I made with him at all! More or less forced." Aladdin said softly. "If I say anything that breeches the terms of that contract, then it means he could control Agrabah on his own terms."

"What did you do to make such a contract, Aladdin?" Jasmine pleaded, turning Aladdin's face towards hers. "I thought you were more careful about...."

"Wait a minute, Jasmine." Genie said softly. "I may not know what all of this is about, but I don't think Al's to blame for anything that happened. And I think it started with Grenden's whole complex about the soul crystal he lost when Aladdin and Iago tried to get the gem that Grenden stole in the Marketplace."

"Soul Crystal?" Jasmine asked.

"You're saying I had somethin' to do with this?!" Iago said angrily.

"Not in a bad way." Genie noted. "Now I get it, when that gem was cracked - it set the soul inside it free and Grenden couldn't use the power from it. That same soul warned Al about how dangerous Grenden was in the first place. And that was definitely good advice."

Abu and Carpet looked at each other and sighed.

"Wait a minute...You two knew that already?" Genie noted.

"Uh huh." Abu nodded.

Grenden smiled. "I almost forgot. It would be wrong of me to say that the only measure of pertinence this vial has is only to Aladdin. Oh no. The young monkey and magic carpet know this just as well as Aladdin does, and while the rest of you may not know it, I think you would be fools to undermine the value of this. Of course, I'd like to make my final wager to you, Aladdin. I'll have your friends choose for you. Of course, you can put your two cents into the decision making, but you're still under our contract. Would they rather have the true form of the throne, or would they rather choose what's in this vial. Know that once the vial is gone - it's destroyed for good, while the throne will be a form that I'll allow you to destroy on your own terms. Gone will be my powers, and gone will be the souls that I've trapped thus far - all set free. Of course, I'll have but one source of power to derive from after that, but it'll be worth the sacrifice."

"Al, that's probably the best offer you're gonna get from him. Even if I don't know what exactly that vial is about." Genie noted softly.

"Not if you knew the other half of it. Even if he destroys that vial, he'll still have enough power to do what he wants with Agrabah, and it won't be easy to stop him after that."

"We can think of something - if it means destroying his throne, he won't have enough power to hold on to his form for long. I should know."

Aladdin knew that if the vial was destroyed, he would lose any chance of being able to cure himself of the poison and that his soul would definitely be taken by Grenden, but he remembered what he had read in the palace library and realized what he could do.

"I think I have an idea." Aladdin called all of them together, and turned his focus to Genie. "No matter what happens after that vial's destroyed, you have to destroy Grenden's second source of power and stop him from using the shadows to invade Agrabah. And that goes for everyone else here."

"What about you, Aladdin? What will you do?" Jasmine said softly.

"In this case, I'll be the decoy; it has to do with his terms. I can't tell you anything, but at the very least, I can buy some time. It has to be done fast. There won't be much time to waste if he gets that next power. That...and well...if it doesn't go exactly as planned, I may not get out of it alive. And Agrabah stands a chance of being destroyed."

"Um...there wouldn't happen to be any other Plan Bs or Cs that we would need to know about, because that plan sounds a little too risky." Iago said, shrinking back on Genie's shoulder.

"No, no!" Abu screeched frantically, and Carpet seemed in agreement to the negation.

"It's the only way, Iago. And Abu, Carpet...I know you guys don't like the idea, but I'll find a way out of it. I trust you guys enough to be able to do what you can, and you'll have to trust me to fend him off so that you can do what you have to. Please. And Jasmine...I just want you to know that no matter what happens, I never meant to lie to you...or any of you...but there's a reason I decided to wait until now to do this." He took Jasmine's hands in his.

"I know; I remember what you said earlier - about knowing things will be okay even if you can't say them. I know you're right...but still...just be careful, okay?"

"I always do my best, Princess." He whispered in Jasmine's ear, kissing her briefly before turning his back and walking towards Grenden.

"I think you can destroy that vial now, Grenden. We don't need it. You'd better hold your end of the bargain, though."

"You're a fool taking this choice, Aladdin, since it automatically chooses your fate for you. And I always keep my word."

"If my friends and I hadn't chose it together, you would have kept stealing souls and manipulating them for your own benefit. They may not know what is in that vial, but they trust me enough to know that we made the decision together - and in the end that's I'll ever need, no matter what happens."

Grenden eyes seemed to indicate a smile on his features. "I suppose that's true, but I think I relish gaining the power to manipulate my being and the dark beasts as a complete whole, and I think you and I both know what that means. Very well. It is done." Grenden hurled the vial on the ground, as the glass cracked into many pieces, and the liquid disappeared into a puff of orange mist that fizzled before completely disappearing.

"By the way, the throne you're looking for is not the one that I was sitting on, but rather this..." Grenden used his magic to bring forth a painting that hung on the wall. It was a picture of a royal family - a king, queen, about four princes and three princesses, standing in a palace hall that looked similar to Grenden's own, only that Aladdin could tell it was not underground, as the sun shined from the windows.

"Was this you, Grenden? In this picture?" Aladdin asked.

"You never saw my face - why would you think I would be in that picture?"

"Let's just say that even if Al saw your face, he probably wouldn't have been able to pick it out from that picture either - you're kinda lacking in that department right now!" Iago interrupted. Grenden's eyes narrowed, and Aladdin gave Iago a look that made the parrot close his beak.

"Just a gut feeling - I may not know which one of the princes you are, but you're definitely in this picture."

Grenden turned away, but his firm tone never changed. "Well, you guess right. I was a Prince once. And Lamrai has always been my kingdom. A dimension that used to be above ground, but was buried in its own betrayal and mysticism. My family was weak, and they were fools. They never understood the pain of what it was like to die alone."

"You're not saying that..."

"They had _me_ killed, Aladdin. Every last one of them wanted ME dead! Because I was heir to their fortune, their magic, and everything

they desired. But there was one thing that I had over them.

"I was a master of mysticism long before I died. I wielded spells that allowed me to never die as long as I could consume and manipulate the souls of those that were living through the soul crystals. I was young, naive...came across a sorcerer who taught me the magic just before he passed away - but he had never seemed to make it work. But I did. I was that good, but I never realized just how much until I discovered this magic. When I realized how dangerous the magic was, I used it against the criminals and traitors that would pass through our kingdom, and they would disappear without a trace. No one missed them, no one loved them. I felt no remorse for ridding of those who wished to end the happiness that surrounded me."

"No matter who they were, you didn't have the right to judge." Jasmine noted, her tone even, but frustrated.

"I killed them for the scum they were!" Grenden turned around, his eyes blazing towards Jasmine as his voice growled from deep within him. "I bound the power to be used from a Throne, and the souls that were capture to be kept to crystals that I could use as due vessels. A throne is not simply a seat, but a group of people that comprise ruling a kingdom - once bound, I could not change it. I dedicated my cause to protecting them - that was all I desired...once. My cause was noble, no matter how you might fancy yourself thinking about it.

"But they deceived me the whole time. Showering me with so called love, gifts, and I trusted every word, every secret, every piece of myself. Except the one stain, the one secret I had about my immortality and ability to use poisonous magic. Until the moment I heard my mother and father wanting to execute me on my 18th birthday, that was when I took matters into my own hands."

"You killed them..." Aladdin prompted, his eyes narrowing.

"Not before they killed me. At first I didn't believe they would, and it never crossed my mind to hurt any of them, until the guard seized me from my bed, and the swords pierced my body."

"That's...harsh. No wonder he's cracked." Iago said in a low voice.

"Harsh doesn't even begin to touch what I felt about it then, bird. And in the moment I felt I was meeting the afterlife, I heard the words of my brother's and sisters - all saying they were glad for my demise. However, I think they were very surprised to see me return to form, and to my life. That was when I began using the termed curses - turning the souls of those strong enough to feed my powers to exist and grow. Hence the gems you've seen in my wares in the grounds above us. I've wandered throughout dimensions and the worlds, searching for the perfect soul from which to harness my powers. The stronger the spirit, the greater the power."

"If you expect me to feel sorry for you, knowing your past, you're wrong. You've hurt so many others and caused them to turn against the people they love." Aladdin said in a low voice, his eyes not leaving Grenden's.

"I don't expect you to feel remorse. Indeed, my search was endless for quite some time, and I've felt some sense of compensation for the bonds I've been able to break - but I never realized that the power within a soul comes not in its ability to break their relationships, but to sustain them. Now it's no longer out of continuous vengeance, Aladdin, but out of function. That doesn't mean my vengeance ends with you, but in this tiresome search for the perfect soul. I seek my own world, my own place where I can lurk in shadow, and rule what was to be my kingdom before my death, beyond Lamrai. So go on, destroy the Throne. I have no use for it now, since I have something else I can use with far greater measure. One in which I know you can't possibly win." Grenden fell silent, and Aladdin turned to Genie.

"Genie?"

"No problem, pal." Genie used his magic to lift the picture from Aladdin's hands, and summoned as much energy as he could before blasting the picture, frame, and mystic power surrounding it to pieces. It disappeared, and Grenden seemed to cry out in pain, falling against the throne behind him, clutching his face in agony.

Abu had been holding one of the gems that had come from the above room - the blue gem that Genie had unlocked the magic from cracked into many pieces and disappeared into sparkling streams in the air. Abu seemed in awe of it, trying to grasp the sparkles that hovered in the air.

Grenden was silent - his body limp in the throne, his eyes no longer glowing.

"Uh...did we just destroy him...cause if we did - that was way too easy. First the whole vial thing, and then the whole Throne thing - I don't understand this at all." Iago pointed out. "I think I gave up halfway through his monologue."

"No, I don't think he's gone...not yet..." Aladdin approached Grenden's form on the throne, cautiously at first, but found himself retracing when Grenden's form started to rise, his glowing eyes still absent. The figure grabbed Aladdin's wrist abruptly.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!"

"You know the terms to come, Prince Aladdin?" The figure's voice was far more menacing now, one that Aladdin did not recognize as Grenden's. It bristled down his spine, but he faced the figure, standing tall even as the gloved hand tightened on his wrist.

"Al, hang on!" Genie called, but Aladdin turned to him.

"No, Genie! Stay back!" When Aladdin turned back to the figure, he nodded slowly and spoke calmly, with his teeth on edge.

"Yeah, I know...my soul is yours now."


	20. Chapter 20: Return

**Return**

Jasmine, Genie, Carpet, Abu and Iago didn't have much time to react to Aladdin's statement, as the figure pulled something from beneath his robe - a lotus gem with gold trim, glowing deep red.

"That gem...!" Jasmine recognized it almost immediately.

"Isn't that the one Al gave you for your anniversary? Just a different color?" Genie asked in a low voice, his voice brimming with a recognition struck in horror.

"I'd recognize it anywhere...but how did Grenden...?"

"I don't know, but now I know what he's planning to use it for. Al, I hope you know what you're doing..."

"Wait! Aladdin, _no_...!"

Aladdin fought the urge to turn at hearing Jasmine's voice, closing his eyes as a dark red light surrounded him, and he felt the fleeting pain of something tearing through his body.

***

Carpet was the first to reach Aladdin as he fell backward from where Grenden stood, the mystic's form unchanging, except for the return of his burning red eyes.

"Perfect. He's definitely the soul I've been searching for all this time. I feel just as much power with this one stone as I could have measured among all of the stones I've wielded. Now Agrabah is mine to control - and thereafter, I shall command the living world in functional, chaotic vengeance." Grenden's form disappeared in a mass of dark mist.

An odd silence fell over the room as Jasmine and Genie rushed to Aladdin's side. Iago, even for his suspended state of disbelief and confusion, found himself without words. It wasn't until Genie found the words to say that the odd stiffness about the room lifted.

"Now I think I understand what poor Al was going through all this time - I can't believe I didn't see it before. All the semi- phenomenal cosmic power in the world and sometimes I forget the tiniest details can make the biggest difference."

"Genie, he's not...?" Jasmine's voice trailed off.

"Dead? Technically, yeah, but _not really_. There's a way to save Al- we have to destroy that gem. I don't think it was anything but a normal gem before Grenden took it. I just hope the kid can fend off Grenden's magic by the time we catch up to him. And that those lights don't start going out in Agrabah, or else there'll be a real mess to deal with up there."

"Okay, I'm gonna probably regret saying all this, but what the heck just happened - why did Al give his soul to our public enemy _numero uno_?!" Iago asked. "I mean, the kid's a goody two shoes, I know, but I can already tell that everything about this plan is just _WRONG_! He's gonna _die_ in that thing, and Agrabah's gonna start being devoured by whatever _arsenal_ that _monster's_ carrying!"

Genie sighed. "I didn't put the pieces together until Al said that, but in a nutshell - Al wasn't in any cohorts or agreements with Grenden - he was under a curse."

"_Curse_?!" Jasmine and Iago said almost at the same time.

"Yep. Explains everything - what he saw that we couldn't see, the whole secrecy thing and avoiding telling us that Grenden was even alive. Even the magic exposure - sure, it happens to humans, but in Al's case, it was getting worse instead of better. And that vial Grenden was holding was the only anecdote. " Genie said sadly. "If I knew that, I wouldn't have chosen the Throne - none of us would, but it's not like either of us could have come out and said it to each other - otherwise, this would have happened. Al actually took it in his own hands and didn't give Grenden the satisfaction of taking his soul from him when he wasn't ready. "

"That's why Aladdin said what he did...about things being all right even if they...oh, Aladdin, I'm so sorry...I didn't know..."

"Hey, hey, Jasmine..." Genie flew to where Jasmine embraced Aladdin's body, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't cry. We'll get him back - and besides, Al promised he'd find a way back, so I know there's a way to save him from wherever he is at the moment. But I think we'd better keep his body safe. If I remember correctly, if that vessel's broken - the gem - his soul will be able to return to his body with no caveats. But we don't have a lot of time to do it."

Jasmine gently lifted herself from Aladdin's body, running her fingers gently over Aladdin's face and hair. She took to her feet, and faced Genie, her expression angry through her tears.

"All right, Genie. Tell me what I need to do. Grenden's going to pay for what he's done, and I'm going to make sure of it."

Genie nodded. "Let's go back to Agrabah and find Grenden. It all starts there."

"Um...I hate to break it to you, but we also need to find where the monkey went, 'cause I don't think he's here anymore." Iago noted, his eyes going swirly with fear.

"_What?!_" Genie and Jasmine turned to Iago.

"Wait a minute - did anyone see Abu before Grenden disappeared?" Genie asked.

"I thought he was near Iago..." Jasmine started.

"He _was_, but when I looked over, he was _gone_."

Genie sighed. "Abu might be caught in this too, because I would have seen him leave the room. Come on, let's get out of here and find Grenden. Sooner we do, the sooner we find Al and Abu." All of them climbed aboard Carpet, and they flew out of Grenden's throne room.

***

Aladdin opened his eyes to find himself in a small, dome shaped room, with only a single jagged doorway to a staircase leading somewhere above him. The dark room wasn't enough for him to see much of anything, but he found a wall to guide himself to his feet, and he noticed that something from the stairwell flickered calmly, with a crackling sound. No doubt some kind of flame, but it was too far to be much help where he was.

He started up the stairs, walking towards the illuminated area. It was dim, but he could see a little better. The area seemed to go in many directions, too many for him to count

"Where the heck is this place - inside the gem? Or something else? Either way, it's not going to do me much good sticking around here for too long."

He heard screeching from the path ahead of him, beyond the range the light in the room spread, but he wouldn't mistake it for anyone other than the name that crossed his mind.

"Abu?! Abu, are you there?!" He called out, but just as soon as he did, he saw something running toward him almost at full speed. Abu was visibly relieved to see Aladdin, and went to leap up into Aladdin's arms quickly, but jumped through his form and hit the rocky wall instead. Aladdin winced at the crashing sound.

"Oh man, I forgot...Abu, are you okay?" Aladdin knelt to where Abu had landed on the floor. Abu took to his paws and grinned at Aladdin, while a few of his front teeth fell out. Aladdin smiled, but it faded as he looked at one of his hands, which was nearly transparent in the faint light.

"At least you're still in one piece...me, I'm...I'm a _ghost_! And I'll stay that way if I don't figure a way out of here. I hope Genie understood what happened. I couldn't really be the one to tell him. And Jasmine..." His voice trailed off, as he couldn't finish the thought.

Abu screeched worriedly, as he waved one of his paw hands through Aladdin's knees as he knelt beside the monkey. It passed completely through.

"But I don't understand...how did you end up here with me?"

Abu shrugged his shoulders, and Aladdin knew it was a moot question.

"Fine, at this point, I don't think I want to ask. We're _both_ going to find a way out of here before anything happens."

Aladdin stood up and looked around the room once more. Something in the room made him tense - the twitch of the air, the stillness of the area even. He could feel something was wrong even before he started hearing anything from the distance. Abu heard the sounds of low growls, and froze in place.

"Okay...so maybe not before something happens. But we can think of something on the way - let's go!"

Both of them headed through a winding path to the east, just before a pack of shadow beasts started to pound their way into the area which they once stood.

***

Grenden stood atop one of the rooftops in the city of Agrabah, looking over the quiet city. He saw the lights and lanterns illuminating the streets, as well as those shining from the brilliant palace over the night skyline.

"You truly think some meager spotlights are going to stop my beasts from devouring the fear in the heart of your city? Fools you are. Time for your soul to be put to some use, _Prince_ Aladdin."

***

"Genie, how far do we have to go to the surface? Can't you just use your magic to take us back to Agrabah?" Jasmine looked up from Aladdin's body, where he seemed in peaceful sleep, to where Carpet navigated through the meandering caves. Iago sat close to both Jasmine's and Aladdin's side, while Genie served as their scout

"I wish I could do that from here, but I can't. The magic in Lamrai is older than even I am - and that's pretty scary." Genie grimaced at the thought of his own age, but shook his head to clear it. "We need to find the door out."

"Isn't that it?!" Jasmine pointed to a large door that looked like the one they had entered when first entering Lamrai."

"You're right! Look's like we'll be out of here in no time."

"In case you forgot, we weren't exactly _prepared_ for a bumpy entrance comin' in _here_!" Iago noted, his voice frantic.

Carpet stopped just short of the door, and Genie thought for a moment, snapping his fingers at an idea.

"Okay peeps, hang on to your safety belts and keep all arms inside the Carpet. Rug man, you ready to move it up and move it out?"

Carpet nodded, and Genie pulled back on his arms, as if he were pulling back imaginary sleeves. "Okay, we're bustin' through that door, and we're going straight to the Marketplace."

"Please don't tell me we're goin' in warp drive; please don't tell me we're goin' in _warp drive_!" But as Jasmine gripped her hand on Carpet's edge, and held Aladdin's body close to hers, Iago's fears were realized and he found himself barely hanging on as Genie used his magic to open the door, and a torrential gust swept them through. Iago's yell could be heard loudly even as the large door closed behind them.

Iago opened his eyes after a while, realizing that they were in Agrabah's marketplace and finally fell from where he was perched on Carpet, gripping his talons into it from the ride.

"Genie, if you ever do something like that again, remind me to kill you."

Genie shook his head while grinning. "You'll thank me later, because that could have been a lot worse if we didn't go as fast as we did."

"Whatever! Just tell me Grenden hasn't started his conquest of Agrabah yet."

"I think he already has, look there!" Jasmine pointed to where Grenden stood, summoning several beasts and dark clouds from the sky, that seemed to fall into the streets of Agrabah and breaking the lights that were around the city, causing them to shut off. But Genie noticed that the stream of magic was slow to develop, even to the point where the beasts Grenden summoned were receding back into the gem.

"Al's gotta be holding him off, that means he must be still okay, and I'm thinking Abu's right in there with him. Let's get that crystal!" Genie said. "Carpet, you stay with Al and make sure his body isn't touched by anything dark and creepy, capiche?"

Carpet held a thumbs up with his knob like ends, as Jasmine, Genie, and a reluctant Iago flew up to the place where Grenden summoned from the glowing gem in his gloved hands.

***

"They're gaining fast; we have to slow them down somehow!" Aladdin ran through the caves as fast as his legs could carry him, Abu only a little bit ahead of him as the dark shadow beasts tore their way through the meandering pathways. "There's too many of them to fight face-to-face."

The two of them came to a fork in the pathway, and Aladdin saw Abu looking back and pointing quickly. One of the beasts hurled itself towards Aladdin, but Aladdin ducked just in time, sending the beast into a wall and disappearing promptly.

"Thanks for warning me; this way!" They headed down the left fork of the pathway, for quite a stretch as the beasts started to gain momentum and number. Abu screeched as he noticed the way in which they headed. It was a large room with torches and dim flames lit around the circular room. Aladdin noticed it as he skidded to a halt in the middle of the room.

"Great. Every path I could have taken in this place, and the one I choose is a dead end! Genie, _come on_, what's taking you so long?"

Aladdin looked above his head and saw something of an opening toward the upper right of the cave.

"Abu, up there!" Aladdin found himself rising from his feet, floating towards the crevasse, as Abu jumped on a series of dimly lit lanterns to reach the same point.

As they both looked down to where the cluster of shadow beasts were, a score of them in the small dome room, Aladdin exhaled sharply. The beasts were clawing against the walls, but in vain effort.

"Well, at least they can't reach us here. And looks like the light in this room is enough to where they can stand it. If there were only some way to to chase them out...wait a minute!" Aladdin's face brightened, as he looked at the path ahead of them . "I've got it; do you think you can turn over each of those lanterns in the room and get back up here in one piece, Abu? It's a little risky, but at least you "

Abu looked wearily at the way down, and began hopping from stand to stand, knocking the low burning torches to the floor.

Aladdin knew Abu could create a fire path to ward off the shadows; that wasn't his worry. He wondered if they could get out before the whole realm inside the gem would destroy itself in the flames, and if Genie and the others could crack the gem in time for him and Abu to get out.

Otherwise, they would both be in trouble.

***

"All right, Grenden, you've messed with the wrong Genie, Princess and bird!"

"Will you _kindly_ leave me outta the lineup?! It's _bad enough _I'm risking my feathers here! You know, you could substitute Carpet every once in a while. _ Just sayin'_!"

Grenden's red eyes danced as he watched Genie, Jasmine and Iago take their places on the roof from where he stood, and laughed heartily.

"So you finally decided to show yourselves. Fools, I'll use this human soul to destroy you all!" He summoned the magic in the gem, aiming each at Jasmine, Genie, and Iago as they scattered from the blasts of dark magic.

"I think if you have some kinda plan, you'd better start using it right about now! Ahh!" One of the dark blasts hit Iago in the back and nearly sent him flying over the edge of the building, but Genie caught him just in time.

"You okay, bird man?"

"Swell....that hurt though..." Iago coughed. "Like I said, you got any plans, use them!"

Genie thought for a moment and found himself with a mischievous grin on his face.

"I think I have the perfect one; but I think we'd better make sure Jasmine's in on it somehow." Genie said, but noticed that plan would be in jeopardy, since Jasmine leapt at Grenden from behind, grabbing the arm that held the lotus gem within it. He used his power to throw her towards the edge of the building, and aimed the gem at her, ready to strike. Genie used his magic to strike Grenden from behind, forcing the mystic to drop the gem briefly as it rolled onto the ground.

Genie grabbed it almost immediately.

"You fool! Grenden tackled Genie with an incredible amount of force, one that Genie knew wasn't the mystics own, but absorbed from the gem.

"I hate to break the news to you buddy, but we have not one, not two but _three_ gems to choose from!" Genie held three exact duplicates of the lotus gem in his hands. "_Uno, dos, tres!_" He took one in his hand, tossed one to Jasmine, who recovered enough to catch it as it went towards her, and tossed the other to Iago, who caught it in mid-air with his talons.

"I've no time for your meddling!" Grenden used his powers against Genie a second time, sending him crashing into the side of the next building. The impact caused Genie to drop the gem, it disappeared in a puff of magic smoke.

Genie recovered quickly, pulling himself out of the large crack in the building wall. "I should warn you, you'll be meeting a date with deja vu very soon..._oww_...."

Grenden growled, taking his aim at Jasmine. She stepped back cautiously as he started to approach her, with dark magic ready to catch the gem in case she dropped it unexpectedly, and another hand ready to strike her with his powers. This tied his hands, but he wasn't worried about Iago causing any trouble for him - Grenden could deal with the bird later.

"I suppose the deja vu is only appropriate in the hands of such a lovely princess." But Grenden didn't expect Iago to fly over his head at that moment.

"Deja vu?! I got your deja vu _right here_!" Iago shouted as he took the gem. Iago dropped it straight towards Grenden.

"What?!"

The gem landed on the back of Grenden's skull, stunning him. The gem clamored against the ground, and Grenden realized that his powers, and his form, were starting to recede.

"I think you'll find that to be the real one, Grenden, and I think that's a sign that it _cracked_. Told ya so." Genie said. "A score for Iago, with an assist by Jasmine. _Whoo_!"

"_NO! How can...my powers...?!_" Grenden's voice started to fade, and his form started to recede in puffs of dark mist, streamlining towards the cracked gem upon the ground. Genie, Jasmine, and Iago noticed that the beasts that had been summoned into the city started to disappear at a rapid pace. Before either of them knew it, the night sky was clear with a starry sky, and Agrabah was quiet once again.

Genie picked up the cracked gem and saw that it had returned to its normal color, and was slightly warm to the touch that he nearly dropped it. It wasn't long before the gem completely broke apart in Genie's palms, streamlining into sparkles of light over the Agrabah skyline. Genie thought he saw smoke coming from the gem as well, but it faded just as quickly as it came.

"Well...I guess that means Grenden's gone for good...just about as quickly as we defeated him the last time. That was a little...anticlimatic..."

"Where's the kid and monkey, though?!" Iago said, landing on the edge of the building to where Jasmine hand sunk to her knees, cradling the duplicate gem in her hands.

"What if we didn't get to Aladdin and Abu in time...Grenden might be destroyed...but..."

A familiar screech echoed from the skyline behind them, and Jasmine, Genie, and Iago turned to see Carpet, Abu, and an awake Aladdin flying towards them.

"I think you guys did great! And just in time!"

"Al! Monkey! Tell me you guys are real!" Iago's face turned into

"In the flesh, I didn't know you were so worried, Iago."

"Me, worried?! Nah, I'd never."

Genie flew past Iago towards Aladdin and Abu, taking them both up in a giant hug.

"The kids are _alright_!" Genie shouted.

"Not if you keep squeezing us like that, Genie. Easy!"

"Sorry, but you didn't exactly give us the impression that we'd see you again, kid. I'm just making sure you're both real."

"In the flesh." Aladdin noted as he turned toward Jasmine, who ran to him as Genie set him on the rooftop, placing her arms around him in a long, silent embrace.

When she looked into his eyes, Aladdin saw that Jasmine had a sad expression on her features.

"Jasmine...what's wrong?"

"There's...so many things that I should say to you...so many things I didn't understand..."

Aladdin sighed with a smile crossing his face. "Would you believe me if I said I felt the same way?"

Her lips turned into a slow smile as she touched her forehead towards his. "Yes."

"So...we're okay? I mean, I feel like I should..."

Aladdin didn't get a chance to say anything else as Jasmine gave him a long lingering kiss, which he returned. For the first time in several days, he felt like he had a reminder of what it meant to be truly alive.


	21. Chapter 21: Epilogue and Author's Notes

**Epilogue**

Genie's banquet that night had been everything Aladdin had expected it to be. The Sultan, the guards of the castle, and the townspeople had a lively celebration throughout the day, and Aladdin and Jasmine had not only their anniversary parade, but also a celebration of the safety of the city from the events of the night before. Granted, the danger ended before it even had the chance to start, but given Aladdin's track record of saving the city, it wasn't duly noted. Aladdin smiled - though he believed he wasn't the real hero in the whole situation - rather the one who helped out and in the exchange, everyone had ended up saving him.

Jasmine stood beside him on the balcony that night, overlooking the Agrabah night skies. Quiet, serene - no sign of Grenden or the shadow beasts that had been there the night before.

Jasmine stood beside him, turning the gem in her hands.

"I feel bad about the whole thing, Jasmine. I didn't know Grenden would steal the original gem I gave to you to use it as a vessel for my soul. Now I feel like I should give you something else to replace it, and give you a better memory of our first anniversary."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow at him and her firm, royal tone carried through her voice. "Now why would you do something silly like that?"

"Silly?!" He exclaimed. "But Jasmine..." She put a finger to his lips, interrupting him.

"First of all, you were the one who was under Grenden's curse. It's not your fault that things happened as they did, even if the gem you gave me originally was broken. It's the thought that counts, right? And look - it still fits the photo you gave me too."

Aladdin sighed. "You're right. But...I just didn't want to give you something that was linked with such a bad memory...for both of us, you know?"

"It wasn't a bad memory, Aladdin. It might have been hard, but we went through it together, didn't we? If anything...I think it gives me another reason to be happy you're with me. Just the look on your face when I gave you the memory book was worth it for me - wasn't it the same for you?"

Aladdin grinned, placing his arms around Jasmine as they looked to the full moon in the sky. "Yeah, I don't think I'll ever forget that."

"Well, you should hang onto it." Jasmine flicked a finger at the feather that Aladdin wore on his sultan's fez.

"Aww, how are you two kiddies enjoying your big anniversary?" Genie appeared in front of them with huge doe-eyes that startled both of them.

"We're fine Genie...just try to keep the unexpected pop-ups to a minimum." Aladdin

Genie grinned, returning to his normal expression. "I got it, especially considering you guys have a special night ahead of you."

"Special?" Aladdin asked, looking at Jasmine, who raised an eyebrow at Genie.

"Speaking of special, there's...something I've been meaning to talk with you about, Aladdin."

"...Sure." He said, as the two of them disappeared behind the curtain to Jasmine's room, both of them with their arms encircling the other's waist.

Genie smiled to himself, but he realized he wasn't alone when Iago, Abu, and Carpet flew up beside him.

"So...where are the lovely couple?" Iago said facetiously. Abu nudged Iago in the ribs, looking happy

"Oh, spending a much deserved _special_ night together."

"_Special_? How much more _special_ can a day get. It's their first anniversary; we just took down a really bad guy, they had a parade and a feast all in their honor _ALL DAY_, what could possibly top that?!"

Genie raised and eyebrow and smiled with a smart expression, then Iago suddenly understood what Genie wasn't saying.

"Okay, excuse me while I go _hurl_ somewhere."

Genie, Abu, and Carpet seemed to laugh collectively as Iago flew off into the night.

_Author's Notes: Well, "Aladdin and the Poison Mystic" is finally finished. I ironed as many kinks out of it as I could with respect to continuity and grammar, but I may have missed more than a few. Still, for it being the first fanfic I ever wrote - it was quite a journey, and I hope those of you who read it enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it in the long run, though it was quite a series of ups and downs trying to balance the action, suspense, humor and dialogue. _

_Thank you so much for taking the time to read it, and I hope that you will read my other fanfic works as well (though I promise they won't be as long as this one - what can I say, I love to write.)_

_~Twinrose84_


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